Colorado: Real Estate Investment Trust

In case you haven't noticed, there's a budget crisis in Colorado. When this happens, governments at every level are forced to look at any and all ways they can maximize revenue under the legal constraints imposed on them.

One way to do this is by identifying loopholes in existing law that allow individuals and business to skip out on taxes they would otherwise have to pay. This isn't always a popular process, but sometimes a 'villain' can be found that nobody will jump up and down to defend (see title)--except for lobbyists being paid to, of course.

Yesterday, Rep. Clair Levy introduced a bill to eliminate a "tax evasion scheme" called a captive real estate investment trust--essentially a shell company owned by related entities that exists to transfer profits offshore to avoid paying taxes.