Financial Tools

As discussed in our last newsletter, Colorado was the first state to call a special session to address the effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”). Since then, many states have either passed legislation or issued guidance to address its conformity to H.R. 1, the OBBBA.

Delaware called a special session on October 31, 2025, to address a potential multi-year revenue loss from rolling conformity to federal tax cuts under the OBBBA. On November 19, 2025, Governor Matt Meyer signed H.B. 255 to decouple from certain corporate tax provisions in the OBBBA. Specifically, the bill decoupled from the following: (1) expensing for domestic research and experimental expenditures made after December 31, 2021, but on or before December 31, 2024, to continue expensing in effect immediately before enactment of the OBBBA; (2) for property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2024, and before January 1, 2031, to continue amortization and depreciation under the IRC in effect immediately before the enactment of the OBBBA; and (3) for qualified production property placed in service before January 1, 2031, to continue amortization and depreciation under the IRC in effect immediately before the enactment of the OBBBA.

In our last several updates, we highlighted the growing pressure on state and local governments as taxpayers increasingly question rising property tax burdens driven by elevated valuations, expanding local budgets, and persistent inflationary costs.

We also noted that taxpayers have a direct opportunity to influence their assessments through the open roll review and appeal process. With those values now largely finalized for the year, attention has shifted to the other major component of the property tax equation: the millage (tax) rate.

As local taxing bodies complete their budgeting cycle, they must determine what millage rate is necessary to fund operations given the finalized tax base. While factors such as community growth, infrastructure demands, public safety needs, and long-term obligations all influence budget requirements, determining what constitutes a reasonable millage adjustment is often subjective and, too often, insufficiently examined or explained.