Pima County Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bronson and County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry are pushing hard to double the Pima County sales tax, which Bronson says does not exist. The District 3 Supervisor, in a Zona Politics interview with Jim Nintzel June 26, declared, “We’re the only county in the fifteen counties in Arizona that doesn’t have a sales tax.” She has since repeated that at Board of Supervisor’s meetings.
That’s because the 1/2 cent per dollar Pima County sales tax is referred to as a “transaction privilege tax” or an “excise tax.” The present sales tax, approved by voters in 2006 and running until 2026, is also called the RTA tax, earmarked for “roadway, transit, safety, environmental and economic vitality improvements,” according to the Pima County website.
While administered by the Pima Association of Governments for the Regional Transportation Authority, the website makes it clear that “Projects are managed by PAG’s member jurisdictions.” In other words, Pima County decides where the Pima County sales tax is spent. The tax is collected on retail sales, contracting, utilities, restaurant and bar sales, rental of real property, and rental of personal property.
County Administrator Huckelberry, in a memorandum to the BOS on July 29, offered several options to increase revenue, including doubling the present sales/excise tax and adding a 2/10ths cent “jail excise tax,” which would raise the county sales tax to 1.2 percent.
A sales tax increase requires unanimous BOS approval, with District 1 Supervisor Ally Miller opposed to it despite constant attacks from board members and their cronies in the media.
Concerns have been expressed by critics of the recent bond election that any new money raised will be used to promote building of the Sonoran Corridor leg of Interstate 11. That plan was decisively turned down by voters last November, but Bronson and Huckelberry have publically stated their determination to resurrect it.
Regressive Taxes
Sales taxes are considered to be “regressive” by economists because they fall on everyone regardless of ability to pay. The present Pima County sales tax is projected to bring in $2.1 billion during its 20-year life, and Huckelberry’s proposed increases would add $98 million in just fiscal year 2016/17.
Four of the five supervisors have also expressed hope that the State of Arizona will increase the gas tax. While it may seem reasonable to tax drivers for money for roads, missing from that regressive tax are the corporations who make money from the people who drive to their stores, their workplaces, their entertainment venues, etc.
The present RTA sales tax is not distributed equitably, according to people living in unincorporated Picture Rocks. The 10,000-person community, represented by Supervisor Bronson, has no public transportation. RTA has been shown that there is a present route in Marana’s Arizona Pavilions shopping area that is severely under-utilized, often running with no passengers. That van route could be extended to several stops in Picture Rocks with no real reduction of shopping center services and a great benefit to the rural community.
The community has been successful in getting public transportation in Picture Rocks on RTA’s to-do list, but with a low priority and little hope of actually seeing it implemented. A community non-profit, Citizens for Picture Rocks, has scheduled a supervisor candidate’s forum for 6:30 pm September 20 at the Picture Rocks Community Center. While Bronson is making a case for increasing taxes, her opponent, Kim DeMarco, is on record opposing any tax increases. Both are likely to be asked about public transportation as well as their positions on the County Administrator’s proposed I-11 route through their community.