Brewer Sales Tax Hike Passed out of Senate Committee

 This morning the Arizona Senate Natural Resources, Infrastructure and Public Debt Committee voted in favor of the 18% sales tax hike referral that Gov. Jan Brewer has doggedly advocated since early last year. The lone vote in opposition came from Sen. Amanda Arguirre (D-Yuma). 

Although many lawmakers who were initially opposed to the sales tax referral now appear to be on board, Americans for Tax Reform’s position in opposition to the sales tax referral remains unchanged and will continue to urge lawmakers to vote “No.” 

Arizona has been one of the states hardest hit by the economic downturn. A recent report commissioned by the Goldwater Institute and conducted by the Beacon Hill Institute found that Brewer’s sales tax increase would only delay recovery. The report concluded the following: 

“a $1 billion dollar sales tax increase would cost 14,400 private sector jobs. That is roughly the equivalent of every worker at PetsMart, Circle K, Harkins Theaters, Starbucks and UPS in Arizona losing their job.”

Furthermore: 

“raising the sales tax by 18 percent would cut the state’s real economic output by $1.2 billion. Arizonans would see their total after-tax income, already hit hard by recession, fall by an average of $300 per household.” 

The Arizona Republic recently reported that there is also a “Third Way” budget proposal working it’s way around the copper dome that would include Brewer’s sales tax hike, some permanent tax increases, as well as some future tax cuts. The Republic notes that “no one is claiming ownership,” of the new package at this point.

And just in time for the special session, Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform will be in Arizona this Thursday. Grover will be the featured guest at this month’s Politics on the Rocks event. For details on this event, click here.

Permalink | Email | Print

Add a Comment