Tax revolt initiatives would gut vital services

Arizona Tax Revolt commentary:

Don’t you just love it when corporate controlled media outlets tell us taxpayers that everything is fine and that we need to be paying even higher property taxes. They tell us that the Arizona Tax Revolt, a non-profit group of taxpayers from across the state that proposes what are perhaps the best thought out set of solutions to a property taxation system gone amok have a hidden agenda to bankrupt government. Of course the States projected $1 Billion deficit means that government is well on the way to bankrupting the state. Many of those entrusted with making fiscal policy decisions on behalf of the taxpayers of Arizona have been spending like drunken sailors, with every expectation that there would be no opposition to once again raising taxes to bail them out.

But times are a changing! Taxpayers that realize that it is our individual responsibility to correct the property tax system are joining www.ArizonaTaxRevolt.ORG to qualify the Property Tax Levy and Valuation rollback measures for the Nov. ballot. Please do your part and visit the WEB site where you will learn about the measures and tell your friends, neighbors and co-workers to help collect signatures on our petitions.

For the record, the Arizona Tax Revolt is a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation based out of Mohave Co. We do have a strong contingent of supporters in Saddlebrooke and many other communities across the state. Now to set the record straight there are no major contributors to the Tax Revolt, just a lot of individual home and property owners that know there is a better way. The professor apparently believes facts to be irrelevant. He claims that the Tax Revolt is supported by Howard Rich, a wealthy New York Developer. This is a bold faced lie as proved by our financial disclosures. Perhaps the Professor should be using his intellect to fight taxes rather than advocating that we are not overtaxed.

For the moment you need only decide that you would like the opportunity to vote on the issue. Sign the petitions and make your final decision in November.

Marc Goldstone, Chair.
Arizona Tax Revolt

Published: January 17, 2008
Arizona Daily Star
by Jim Brademas

We are told that the state of Arizona faces a nearly $1 billion deficit in 2008. In the face of that knowledge, proponents of Arizona Tax Revolt, a group pushing two ballot initiatives, want to cut taxes to the point of crippling state and local government.

"The tax revolt is about bankrupting government, shrinking government no matter what affect is has on services," Kristina Wilfore, executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center in Washington, D.C., told the AARP Bulletin in 2006. "These are people who really believe government doesn't serve its purposes."

Arizona Tax Revolt proponents have stated publicly that they want to adopt the Colorado Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR. In November 2005, Colorado faced a $1 billion deficit. Voters rescinded TABOR at that time, giving up their tax refunds to restore needed .

Colorado had fallen from one of the best states to among the worst for childhood immunizations, had the lowest ratio of teacher salaries to average private-sector earnings and fell from 26th to 32nd in K-12 education funding, according to an AARP report.

The state's per-student spending for higher education declined by nearly a third after adjusting for inflation, leading to tuition increases and faculty layoffs. Also, the proportion of children without health insurance rose from 15 percent to 27 percent, AARP reported.

The Arizona Tax Revolt also cites Proposition 13 in California, which severely curtailed public spending. But the citizens' desire for quality services — schools and libraries, hospitals and police, roads and bridges, parks and pools, even zoos and museums — created numerous loopholes that began to effectively restore taxes.

The tax revolt locally took root in Pinal County and, more specifically, in SaddleBrooke, a very comfortable retirement community with three clubhouses, three golf courses, three swimming pools, three fitness centers, 23 tennis courts and some of the lowest property taxes to be found. The median price of homes in SaddleBrooke was $495,000 in November 2006.

Pinal County late last year announced a reduction in the property tax of 28 1/2 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. Further, county officials stated that "increased property taxes are off the table for this year."

The local tax revolt proponents brought in a wealthy retired individual, Marc Goldstone, originally from California, to tell us we are spending too much on, for example, fire protection. We assume he would add police protection, public health, education, road repair and the entire list of essential government services.

He does not live in SaddleBrooke or Tucson yet presents himself as an expert on local government services. If Arizona Tax Revolt tells you that education would not be included in the tax cuts do not believe it.

Much of the funding for tax revolt efforts comes from organizations affiliated with Howard Rich, a wealthy New York developer and contributor to conservative and libertarian causes. Groups linked to him contributed $7.5 million to sponsors of 2006 ballot initiatives. Fred Grisbach, AARP's director of advocacy stated, "TABOR has been sold as a bill of rights. It's really a bill of goods. We have to demonstrate how much of a false promise it is — in person, on radio, on TV and in the newspapers."

Do we really want to close down our fire stations and lose our emergency medical technicians? Do we really want to cut the personnel in the Sheriff's Department? Do we really want to close libraries and parks? Do we really want to cut funding for education? Do we want to close our eyes to road repair?

If you express concern for such issues, then don't sign the tax-revolt petition. Just say no.

Write to Jim Brademas at brademas@wbhsi.com.