Gov. Jan Brewer speaks proudly of her role in lifting the state out of the massive deficit she inherited in 2009. And with her final budget proposal, she seems intent on making sure her successor doesn’t have to say the same thing.

The governor’s budget defied expectations that she would use her final year in office to significantly increase spending for K-12 schools, higher education and other areas. Instead, Brewer took a more modest approach intended to keep new spending relatively low so the state’s budget will be structurally balanced by fiscal year 2016.

Arizona Tax Research Association Director Kevin McCarthy offers his perspective on revenue options available to lawmakers as they look for ways to balance the current year state budget.

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Arizona municipalities are on edge about a proposal to change the way Arizona taxes construction materials, saying it poses a threat to city revenue.

The reform would charge sales tax on raw materials that contractors purchase at checkout rather than the existing system, which allows the state and cities to tax the final price of the project.

For cities and towns where construction activity is on the rebound, the reform could mean a shift in revenue to areas where contracting suppliers are abundant, instead of where the actual construction occurs.

The Arizona Tax Research Association (ATRA) has unveiled the results of its review of fiscal year 2014 adopted county budgets.
In the report, ATRA summarized all the tax rates in Navajo County for special districts, property taxes and sales taxes, as well as other sources of revenue, such as Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF), and expenditures.

After three failed attempts, a group that is seeking California-style property tax limits in Arizona is preparing for another push to get the question on the 2014 ballot.

The organization has dropped its old moniker – Prop 13 Arizona – in favor of a new name: EZ Property Tax. It has also secured the help of conservative stalwarts, including former state Sen. Russell Pearce and former Republican state party chairman Randy Pullen.

After seven years of failing to get the question on the ballot, a group that is seeking to impose California-style limits on property tax increases is trying again. Lynn Weaver of Prop 13 Arizona said this time, the initiative drive will be sufficiently funded, and it will pay for workers to gather the 259,213 valid signatures that are needed to qualify for the 2014 ballot. The initiative organizers also shed their old name, Prop 13 Arizona, in favor of a new one – EZ Property Tax.

The next frontier in Arizona’s efforts to woo manufacturers may be an exemption on the sales taxes they pay on electricity usage.

Gov. Jan Brewer is working on a proposal to eliminate the sales taxes that manufacturers pay on their electricity, according to gubernatorial aide Michael Hunter. Arizona is one of only 13 states that charges its full sales tax rate on energy usage, he said.

Arizona State Statutes have long required city and county budgets to be posted as legal notices in newspapers of general circulation. State Legislators have added requirements over the years to increase the public’s access to city finances.

Senator Mike Lee of Utah has proposed adding a child tax credit of $2,500 per child, which is in addition to the existing child tax credit of $1,000 per child. This week’s map shows which states benefit most from the existing child tax credit, in terms of the average dollar amount per tax return. Utah gets far and away the biggest benefit, at $665 per tax return, followed by neighboring states Idaho, at $498 per tax return, and Arizona, at $495 per tax return. Massachusetts gets the smallest benefit, at $260 per tax return.

PHOENIX - Saying it makes Arizona a friendlier place to do business, Gov. Jan Brewer signed a major overhaul Tuesday of how the state and cities collect sales taxes and audit businesses to ensure compliance.



The measure places some new limits on what cities can tax beyond what is already subject to the state sales tax. That should provide some assistance to firms that do business in several communities and now have a difficult time figuring out what products and services are subject to each city's tax.