NEWS UPDATES
Arizona Lawmakers Needs to End Public Notice Subsidy for Newspapers
The Free Enterprise Club is often at the helm of highlighting instances of corporate welfare which often coalesce around developer sweeteners and tax carve outs. However, another form of this has gone on for far too long without the traditional public scrutiny. This...
TIF Schemes Harm Taxpayers (Part II)
Last month the Club shared how Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is a tool used by local governments and city planners to subsidize projects that benefit politically connected developers and landowners. That is not the only problem with this financing scheme: TIFs are...
Legislature Votes for Overhaul of Arizona Commerce Authority
News Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, December 9th, 2015 CONTACT: Scot Mussi: (602) 508-6088 Legislature Votes for Overhaul of Arizona Commerce Authority Phoenix, AZ—Today the joint Senate and House Commerce Committee voted 9-0 to recommend a...
Free Enterprise Spotlight: EVO Swim School
The Club is at the forefront of combatting the government practice of providing special handouts to select businesses. States and cities compete to out-spend each other landing the hottest business. In the meantime, billions of dollars are extracted from other...
The Silver Lining in November’s Election
Examining the results of the November elections, it was a mixed bag for Arizona taxpayers. Specifically, there was a lot of debate surrounding the numerous bonds and override requests being pursued by school districts, the most controversial of which being spending...
Tax Increment Financing is a Bad Deal for Taxpayers
When it comes to providing targeted incentives to developers and picking winners and losers with our tax dollars, it’s hard to beat tax increment financing (TIF.) Currently the usage of tax increment financing is prohibited in Arizona, but if city officials,...
Arizona Commerce Authority exaggerates economic development claims
Everyone knows that when government gets into the economic development business and starts handing out targeted incentives, they will do everything they can to pad their statistics to justify the subsidies. One example of this type of gamesmanship occurred after the...
Cities Use Taxpayer Money to Lobby for More Taxpayer Money
Tens of millions of dollars are spent each year by local governments to lobby other governments. A good portion of these efforts are focused on The Hill, where “K Street” firms grease wheels to bring home millions in pork. Cities also employ lobbyists to roost at...
Short Term Rental Prohibitions Erode Property Rights, Harm Consumers
Many ordinary citizens in Arizona are engaged in illegal activity that is a class 1 misdemeanor, punishable up to $2,500 and imprisonment up to six months. Each day they are in violation is considered a separate offense. Hypothetically, a week of this action could...
2015 Free Market Champion Award Winners Announced
News Release For Immediate Release: October 15th, 2015 Contact: Scot Mussi 602-508-6088 2015 Free Market Champion Award Winners Announced Phoenix, AZ – The Arizona Free Enterprise Club announced today the 2015 Free Market Champion Award recipients. The Free Market...
Mandatory Sick Leave Proposal Makes Tempe Employers Nauseous
The City of Tempe is exploring joining the ranks of San Francisco, Seattle and New York City in mandating businesses located in town to provide paid sick leave for employees. Although no formal drafts have been presented of such an ordinance, the council reviewed the...
Making Arizona the 10th Income-Tax-Free state: The Economic Case for Tax Reform.
Phoenix, AZ – The Arizona Free Enterprise Club today has released its new study on tax reform titled Making Arizona the 10th Income-Tax-Free state: The Economic Case for Tax Reform. Written by economist and Heritage senior fellow Stephen Moore, the paper evaluates...