A Breckenridge, Colo., woman wants Breckenridge Ski Resort to pay sales taxes on its lift ticket sales.

Carol Rockne is working on a proposal for the Nov. 2 ballot that would, if voters give their OK, initiate a 2.5 percent sales tax on lift tickets and season ski passes at the ski area. The tax would add between 98 cents and $1.68 to the cost of full-priced daily passes purchased at the window. It would add $7.50 to the cost of a Buddy Pass.

Under Rockne's proposal, the money would go into the town's general fund and could be used for town improvements.

"My interest is in keeping the core of town healthy and strong," she told the Summit Daily News. "Maybe it could go to Main Street improvements, Riverwalk improvements, an (in-town) parking structure."

Officials with Breckenridge Ski Resort said the proposed lift-ticket tax would be a disaster for the town. They predict it would drive off skiers, take away money that would otherwise be spent in town, leave Breckenridge Ski Area at a competitive disadvantage with other ski areas and potentially harm the partnership between the town and resort.

Rockne presented her affidavit to the town June 30 but was told she needed to rework the language to meet legal criteria. She also needs 476 valid signatures to get the initiative on the ballot.

She predicts a sales tax on lift tickets won't be as bad as the ski resort thinks.

"They're saying the sky is going to fall if they have to pay it," she told the News They're whining and whimpering over something that should have been here a long time ago. A lot of people have thought they were already paying it."