Colorado Outrage

State of Colorado bait and switch. Farmer Julie Gentz tells a story of government betrayal. "Colorado has offered a program of conservation easement since year 2000. If a landowner has a piece of property that eventually could be turned into a housing development, or a mine operation or as wildlife habitat or any conservation purpose, that landowner could place an easement or restriction of the use on that land in perpetuity, for ever, and in exchange the state of Colorado would allow you tax credits. That's dollar for dollar whatever the appraised value of what the potential use, such as turning it into a housing development, however much money you would have netted, you would receive that dollar for dollar in tax credits and those tax credits can be sold to third parties. So if you are a farmer or rancher who does not have a high income each year, you could sell those tax credits if you did not need them yourself, you could sell them to a third-party. Somebody else that did have a high tax liability would pay you for the tax credits. What's at issue is that the state of Colorado allowed these tax credits and then they came back on the farmers and ranchers several years later, when the state was in a downturn and needed money so they needed to slash this program.” But they didn’t just end the program. Wait till you hear what they did to the Gentz family tomorrow.