Homepage

Legislative Session 2020

Good Bill/Bad Bill List
ATRA Supports Business Property Tax Reform, SB1398

Position Papers:

Good Bill/Bad Bill List
ATRA Opposes SB1280 unfunded pension liability is not long term debt
ATRA Supports SB1121: Model City Tax Code Transparency
ATRA Supports HB2404: Simplifying MRRA under Prime Contracting
ATRA Opposes HB2814: Providing Targeted Tax Breaks is Bad Policy
ATRA Supports HB2106: K-12 Audit Transparency
ATRA Supports HB2354: Extended Tax Filings
ATRA Supports SB1113: Property Tax Statement Transparency
2020 Legislative Program
ATRA Supports Business Property Tax Reform

Special Reports

PSPRS Costs Plague City, Fire District Budgets
ATRA Opposes the Steyer Initiative
ATRA Opposes the Income Tax Hike
ABOR Tax Free Zones

Press Releases

June, 2019: Phoenix Plans Tax Increase Despite Record Revenues
August, 2018: Prop 207 Raises Taxes on All Arizonans
August, 2018: Tax Court Rules Against Pinal County's Transportation Sales Tax
View all press releases →

Recent Publications

July 2020 Newsletter
  • Taxpayers Win Gift Clause Challenge
  • Counties Increase Property Taxes Despite Healthy Reserves
  • Eastern College Raises Taxes 6% During a Pandemic
  • Cities & Towns to Increase Primary Property Taxes Over $10 Million
May 2020 Newsletter
  • County Audits Reflect Loose Spending of Taxpayer Dollars
  • ATRA Tracking Local Government Tax Increases
  • Gadsden Elementary's Illegal Boondoggles
ATRA March 2020 Newsletter
  • Coronavirus Forces Legislature to Adjourn
  • Teacher wages up, Competitive with Peers
  • Gov Signs Bill Requiring Tax Statements Include Tax Information
  • FY 2021 Taxable Property Values Up 5.7%
ATRA February Newsletter
  • Arizona Lands $11.6B in Income From Migrants
  • The Coming High School Enrollment Decline
  • Expenditure Limits: Pension Liability Is Not Long-Term Debt
Arizona School Finance 2020

This primer is a thorough breakdown and history of public school finance in Arizona, to include discussions on recent trends and issues. 

Issue File

Community Colleges
County Budgets
Digital Goods / Services
Fire Districts
GPLET/Incentives
K-12 Finance
Pensions
Property Taxes
Remote Sales/Wayfair
State and Local Debt

Recurring Publications

2019 Legislative Review
An Explanation of Arizona Property Taxes (2016 Edition)
2017 Tax Digest
2019 Tax Rates & Assessed Values
FY16 Community College Finance Review
FY 2017 County Budget Review

ATRA in the News

Local government wouldn't dream of raising taxes during a pandemic. Or would it?
The Arizona Republic
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Sean McCarthy

Opinion: Arizona cities, counties, library districts and community colleges may be tempted to ask more from taxpayers. They should use their savings first.

Read Full Article
Podcast: The Political Notebook
The Political Notebook
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Billy Robb

Sean McCarthy joins the podcast to break down some issues related to Arizona school finance. We talk about the funding formula and school choice, as well as emerging trends like declining district enrollment numbers and the rising cost of the state's retirement system.

Read Full Article
Declining birth rates to impact Arizona high schools, require innovation
Chamber Business News
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Victoria Harker

As student numbers decline and some schools fail to consolidate and adapt, taxpayers could be the ones footing the bill, said Sean McCarthy, senior research analyst for ATRA, which advocates for taxpayers at the local and state level.

Read Full Article
Arizona Tax Group Pushing For 'Right Sized' Business Property Tax In 2020
KJZZ
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Mark Brodie

Many advocacy groups will be competing for Arizona lawmakers’ time and a slice of the state budget this year.
ATRA is included in that list. The Show sat down with the Sean McCarthy, senior research analyst there.

Read Full Article