Tax Revolt begins petition stretch run

Published: March 26, 2008
The Mohave Valley Daily News

By NEIL YOUNG

BULLHEAD CITY - Bullhead City-based Arizona Tax Revolt continues its petition drive to place two measures on the Nov. 4 ballot. For each initiative, the organization will need to turn into the Secretary of State's office 230,000 valid signatures from registered Arizona voters by July 3.

The initiatives deal with property valuation and levy rollbacks for taxing jurisdictions such as fire and flood control districts. In 2010, the valuation measure would roll back all valuations to 2003 levels.

“Now, this does not mean that your tax bill goes down to what you paid in 2003,” said Marc Goldstone, Arizona Tax Revolt chairman, “but what it does mean is any real estate price inflation occurring after 2003 no longer increases your property tax bill and the people that had the biggest increases since 2003 will see another reduction in 2010.”

Taxable value is capped at a 2 percent increase per year. A house built after 2003 rolls back to what it would have been worth in 2003. The initiative covers all types of property: residential, commercial and agricultural.

“And the beauty of this is that it doesn't cause a shift of the tax burden between the different types of taxpayers or property owners and everyone saves equally by the same percentage in a given area, where they share the same taxing entities,” Goldstone said.

Regarding the levy rollback, “Our measure is structured to get the taxing entities to set their 2008 levy to a 2 percent plus growth limit voluntarily” as an incentive, Goldstone said. “You either roll back to your 2005 levy or, if you keep your 2008 levy to 2 percent plus growth - no more - then you qualify for the average of the last four years, which would be a lot less severe rollback.”

It will give most people a 15 percent reduction in their property tax bills in 2009, “without taking any money from the schools,” he said.

Goldstone is urging residents to attend the board of directors meetings of taxing jurisdictions, especially the Bullhead City Fire District.

Citing the district's 50 percent increase last year over the previous year's budget, he's trying to recruit people to run for the board's elective seats.

“People need to recognize that the governing bodies of these various taxing entities have the authority to effectively take out a second mortgage on your home or business,” Goldstone said. “And you've got to have people in there that think the way you do as a taxpayer and that are going to hold that budget close to their hearts and minimize the increases, and they need to act as our agents, not the agents of the bureaucracy that would like to grow at our expense.”

For more information call Goldstone at 928-727-4090.