Tax group president heads ballot campaign to cap property values
A coalition headed by an influential fiscal policy think tank submitted paperwork today to launch a campaign in support of a ballot measure that caps the growth of property values in Arizona.
Last-minute amendments make big changes to tax bill
The last bill that the Legislature approved before adjourning for the year underwent major changes in the waning hours of the session that could be worth as much as $30 million in tax credits to some companies.
Brewer’s state employee personnel reform will benefit all Arizonans
This is Arizona’s centennial year. It’s both a grand accomplishment to celebrate and an occasion that we should mark by making our state government more effective and efficient.
Arizona’s combined sales tax rate is second-highest in the nation
Vans Trading Co. has been around since 1946, but it’s only in the last decade that customers at the Tuba City general store have yelled at the cashiers after they get their receipts.
Influential tax policy group seeks limit in growth of property values
An influential tax policy group will seek to put a measure on the ballot to limit growth in property values.
The Arizona Tax Research Association wants taxable property values to grow by no more than 5 percent each year.
Business group trying to veto-proof its tax-break bill
The Greater Phoenix Economic Council is rebooting its signature bill from the 2011 legislative session with some substantial changes that may help it avoid another veto.
The GPEC-drafted proposal, obtained by the Arizona Capitol Times, contains familiar benefits for businesses: A huge property tax break for companies that make major investments, and a tax break for Arizona-bas[...]
Babbitt blasts ‘radical’ GOP bill on public lands
Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt is blasting as "radical" a Republican proposal to open up more than 50 million acres of public lands to logging and other development.
Lack of Internet sales tax pits small retailers vs. online giants
A 1992 Supreme Court decision ruled that online and mail-order retailers do not have to charge consumers sales tax if the company did not have a presence in the consumer’s state, opening the debate about what exactly constitutes a “presence.” A warehouse? A storefront?
Debt reduction is next fiscal hurdle
After policymakers borrowed heavily to keep government afloat amid a festering fiscal crisis that blew holes in the state’s budget for four years, a former Senate president tried to put into place a mechanism to rein in politicians’ appetite for debt-financing.
Distractions? Yes. Distracted? Probably not too much
Every circus has its sideshows. And this year, the state Capitol was crawling with them.
For the first time in more than a decade, lawmakers wrapped up their work in 100 days. And they did so in spite of distractions that came in the form of a roadside fracas that cost a Republican leader his post, a college football scandal that ensnared more than a dozen elected officials and a trag[...]
A balanced budget… for now: Threat of lawsuits could undo spending cuts
Fiscally conservative Republicans won the argument when the governor agreed to forego borrowing and other budget gimmicks to help shore up the state’s sagging revenues, and the budget-slashing proposal was also a vindication for legislators who saw themselves as lone voices in the wilderness, warning for many years that politicians’ appetite for spending would one day come back to haunt them. [...]
GPEC plan moves forward, sans tax credits
A plan viewed by supporters as a second jobs bill cleared another legislative hurdle, but a provision expanding tax credits for new jobs might have to wait until next year.