ATRA in the News
Kevin McCarthy, the group’s president, said a 5 percent limit produces more stability by establishing a steadier growth pattern — something that is less vulnerable to wild swings in valuations that could, in turn, lead to higher jumps in tax bills.
Kevin McCarthy, president of the Arizona Tax Research Association, said the periodic debate over exemptions obscures a larger issue: the importance of having a uniform sales-tax code instead of the two-track system now in place.
Currently, the state and counties follow one tax code. Many cities have their own tax codes and often tax items the state does not tax, or vice versa. This confuses businesses, Hunter said. The League of Arizona Cities and Towns is working with the Arizona Tax Research Association on a unified tax code.
"It would be most interesting to know how someone in human resources could manage that operation from a distance," said Kevin McCarthy, president of the Arizona Tax Research Association. "I don't know how you do that job from a living room in Mississippi."
Significant budget increases between 2003 and 2008 were followed by a recession that stripped 35 percent of the revenue from the state general fund. sponsored by the Arizona Tax Research Association.
“We are going to make that a temporary tax because we believe you just cannot fall back on extending taxes (or) increasing taxes to justify the spending of money we don’t have,” incoming Senate President Steve Pierce said at last month’s legislative outlook conference sponsored by the Arizona Tax Research Association.