WEIERS, SUPPORTERS URGE GOVERNOR TO SIGN STATE PROPERTY TAX REPEAL

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By GRAYSON STEINBERG
Cronkite News Service

PHOENIX (Monday, April 14) _ Permanently repealing a state property tax that could raise $250 million annually would provide relief for taxpayers dealing with the difficult economy, House Speaker Jim Weiers said Monday.

“We don’t need another tax,” said Weiers, a Republican from Phoenix. “We need to get this economy stimulated.”

Joined by business owners and private citizens, Weiers held a news conference on the State Capitol lawn urging Gov. Janet Napolitano to sign HB 2220, which he sponsored. It would eliminate the state equalization property tax, which was suspended in 2006 and is scheduled to return next year.

The bill narrowly passed both houses and was headed to Napolitano’s desk Monday.

Weiers said a veto would amount to a $250 million tax hike.

“We all know the economy is not going as well as we would like,” he said. “Reduce the burdens off the backs of the people that make this state grow.”

Tim Jeffries, managing partner of P7 Enterprises, a Scottsdale-based consulting firm, said keeping the tax would take away money small businesses need to expand and create new jobs.

“If we take it from the business owners, they don’t have it to invest in our economy,” Jeffries said.

Citing the state’s budget deficit, projected at nearly $1.2 billion this year and $1.7 billion next year, the bill’s opponents have said repealing the property tax would eliminate a source of money that could be used for education, transportation and other needs.

Weiers said education wouldn’t lose funding if the tax went away because state law requires the Legislature to compensate school districts for any shortfall in property tax revenue.

Rep. Phil Lopes, D-Tucson, the House minority leader, said in a telephone interview that he didn’t think the tax break would trickle down to most people.

“There absolutely no evidence that that works that way,” Lopes said. “For them to say, ‘We’re cutting your tax and it’ll be good for taxpayers and it’ll be good for the economy,’ is voodoo economics.”

Shilo Mitchell, a Napolitano spokeswoman, said rolling back the property tax would primarily benefit large businesses and would only save the average homeowner about $100 annually. The governor believes the state should be looking at all options to deal with the budget deficit, Mitchell said.

“She wants the Legislature to focus on solving the budget issues,” Mitchell said. “Instead, they’re taking away money that pays for schools and other priorities.”

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CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-PROPERTY TAX: House Speaker Jim Weiers, R-Phoenix, speaks Monday, April 14, 2008, outside the State Capitol during a news conference at which he, business leaders and citizens urged Gov. Janet Napolitano to sign a bill that would permanently repeal a statewide property tax. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Grayson Steinberg)

CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-PROPERTY TAX: Tracy Spoon, president of the Sun City Taxpayers Association, speaks Monday, April 14, 2008, outside the State Capitol during a news conference at which House Speaker Jim Weiers, business leaders and citizens urged Gov. Janet Napolitano to sign a bill that would permanently repeal a statewide property tax. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Grayson Steinberg)