http://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/arizona-news/is-arizona-ranked-dead-la…

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - With all the talk about teacher pay in recent weeks, both around the country and in Arizona, there is one number people keep hearing, that Arizona is ranked dead last in the nation, when it comes to teacher pay.

However, is that really the case? The Arizona Tax Research Association recently took a deep dive into the numbers.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/abekwok/2018/03/31/arizon…

Is teacher pay in Arizona 43rd in the country? Or is it 50th? Or 38th? Or 28th?

Yes.

And we should all pay heed – not because the rankings and data are wrong, per se; they’re not. Or because adversaries in the education-funding realm pick and choose whatever number suits their argument. That’s a given.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/2018/03/16/universities-kill-bi…

Hearty congratulations are in order to Arizona State University, which has managed to kill a bill that would have ended what may be the state’s sweetest tax dodge.

Rep. Vince Leach, R-Tucson, has been questioning why Arizona’s largest commercial office complex pays no property taxes – and won’t for 100 years.

Did anyone else notice their bill for cloud storage went up last year because a sales tax (TPT) suddenly appeared? As an association who follows state tax law closely, we wondered what law or rule changed. It turns out nothing changed. Bureaucrats at the state simply decided to start taxing the cloud.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2018/03/12/arizona-teache…

Arizona Republic readers who followed the teacher strike in West Virginia must be confused given the consistent drumbeat peddled here that Arizona has the worst teacher pay in the country.

While Arizona should attempt to drive additional dollars to classrooms to pay teachers competitive wages, there’s no reason for advocates to twist data to suggest we’re last in teacher pay.

https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2018/03/11/arizona-wrestles-wi…

Arizona lawmakers are wading into some uncharted waters in deciding whether to tax digital streaming services and cloud technology and software.

Their actions could impact taxes on Microsoft office products, streaming services such as Netflix (Nasdaq; NFLX) and music services such as Spotify.

https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2018/03/09/arizona-vince-leach-chuck-es…

The will of taxpayers is being evoked by both sides in the debate over a bill that would require school districts to sell property to charter or private schools when they are the highest bidders.

The Arizona House of Representatives approved 58-0 a bill adding some new reforms to property tax breaks that cities offer to developers and businesses.

House Bill 2126 ended up being a compromise measure between fiscal conservatives, real estate groups and cities over Government Property Lease Excise Taxes. or GPLETs.

GPLETs involve city governments owning land but leasing it to private developers and businesses who then pay lower property taxes than if they owned it outright.

The Roosevelt Elementary School District levied and spent $13.5 million earmarked for desegregation activities, but without operating any specific programs for that purpose, according to the an Arizona Auditor General’s Office report on the district’s spending in fiscal year 2016.

The auditor found that the district spent $13.3 million on salaries and benefits for teachers and other instructional staff, and the remaining $200,000 was spent on administration.

https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2018/02/02/big-fight-pits-legi…

A bill making its way through the Arizona Legislature puts restrictions on real estate deals crafted by state universities.

It sets up another big political fight between the Republican Legislature and state universities — specifically Arizona State University.