by AZFEC | Nov 1, 2013 | News and Updates, Uncategorized
The Arizona Free Enterprise Club today released the following statement on the efforts by the Phoenix City Council to address the ongoing pension spiking abuse:
“The council is expected today to try to approve meaningless reforms that do not address the issue of pension spiking,” Executive Director Scot Mussi said. “The Mayor won’t even allow an up or down vote on real anti-spiking reforms being proposed by Councilman Sal DiCiccio, which illustrates their unwillingness to stop the abuse.”
According to the Arizona Republic, pension spiking is costing Phoenix taxpayers over $190 million dollars, a number that will continue to grow as the abuse continues. “Pension costs are out of control, and taxpayers are on the hook,” Mussi said.
In response to the spiking abuse and out of control pension costs, the Arizona Free Enterprise Club has filed an initiative that will implement real pension reform in Phoenix. “If city hall won’t address our escalating pension crisis, it is time Phoenix voters have a say,” Mussi said.
For more information on the Free Enterprise Club’s pension reform initiative, click here for a fact sheet on the measure.
by Scot Mussi | May 9, 2012 | News and Updates, Uncategorized
Since our first session in 2006, the Club has successfully lobbied to reduce personal income taxes (10% cut for all brackets), cut the corporate tax rate (from 7% to 4.9%), reduce both residential and commercial property taxes, and now cut the capital gains tax rate by 25 percent.
by Scot Mussi | May 8, 2012 | News and Updates, Uncategorized
The House and Senate sent to Gov. Brewer a bill to cut Arizona’s capital gain tax. Brewer is expected to sign the bill this week.
The capital gains tax cut would allow taxpayers a 25% subtraction from how capital gains are currently taxed (as regular wages). So if you’re in the 4.54% tax bracket, realized capital gains would be taxed at 3.4% rather than 4.54%.
The Arizona Free Enterprise Club for two years has pushed to have capital gains eliminated, but this 25% subtraction is a good first step.
by Scot Mussi | May 8, 2012 | News and Updates, Uncategorized
The legislative session came to a close and the legislature saw fit not to send a film subsidy package to Gov. Brewer, who was expected to veto.
by Scot Mussi | Apr 12, 2012 | News and Updates, Uncategorized
The film tax credit bill (aka subsidies for movie producers) is still alive, even if barely. Seems some in the legislature are sympathetic to Sen. John Nelson’s desire to ensure one industry become the beneficiary of massive tax breaks at the expense of everyone else. It’s too bad.
There is absolutely no reason for this bill to move. This subsidy has yet to receive even a simply majority of Republican support in any forum it has been in. It only received 7 votes among the Senate’s 21 Republicans. The bill never even got a vote in the House because it could not garner one Republican vote in the committee to which it was assigned.
Given that the GOP controls both the House and the Senate, they should inform Senator Nelson to pick up another cause.
by Scot Mussi | Apr 12, 2012 | News and Updates, Uncategorized
The Club opposed HB2060, which would have allowed Paradise Valley and Litchfield Park (among other small towns) to implement a new property tax.
The bill, pushed by the town of Paradise Valley, initially would have allowed the Town Council to implement the tax without a vote of the people. A subsequent amendment required a public vote, but that change simply wasn’t enough to garner our support.
Property taxes in Arizona are subject to limits on how much taxes can increase. This bill would have placed this tax outside those constitutional limits.
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