Voters appear to Defeat Transportation TAX
VIA SBINSIDER| UPDATE NOVEMBER 9TH
LATE BREAKING VOTES APPEAR TO DEFEAT TRANSPORTATION TAX 469
Early ballots had this proposition leading but the last release of votes in Pinal reveals the early lead in favor has been overtaken by the NO votes.
This November, voters will choose whether or not to increase a county-wide .05 (half cent) sales tax dedicated to transportation projects. In a prior attempt to increase the tax, the voters barely passed the measure, Proposition 417, in 2017. A lawsuit was filed by the Goldwater Institute challenging the Constitutionality of the tax due to its application to only the first 10K of the purchase amount. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled the tax unconstitutional in which triggered its supporters to hoist Proposition 468.
From the time the measure initially passed and the Supreme court ruling, the tax has been collected and it is in an escrow account to the tune of about $100 million dollars. Refunding the taxes is a sticky issue: the tax was paid by customers and then sent to the Department of Revenue by the retailers. The only mechanism to refund the tax appears to be sending amounts to the retail stores. Which means that the people who actually paid the taxes would likely never benefit.
Election experts have pointed out that the election losses in 2020 of Supervisor Todd House in Apache Junction and Pete Rios in Coolidge may have partially resulted because of their strong support of this tax.
None of the proposed tax dollars will fund transportation in or around the SaddleBrooke or SaddleBrooke Ranch areas. The upgrades on Hwy 77 are paid for by state taxes.
For more information on Proposition 469 (corrected) see your voter guide.
