Arizona Contractors Oppose GOP Lawsuit Against Sales Tax They Stand To Benefit From
By Staff Reporter |
Arizona’s unified organization of general contractors are in opposition to a lawsuit by local Republican Party leaders over the voter-approved sales tax that, ultimately, benefits them.
The Arizona Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America (AZAGC) said in a press release that the latest lawsuit from the Maricopa County Republican Committee (MCRC) challenging the passage of Proposition 479 was a “frivolous” action undertaken by “disgruntled partisans.”
Prop 479 continued an existing .05 cent sales tax, revenues which fund Maricopa County’s infrastructure and, naturally, the general contractors that build it. MCRC filed suit on Monday in the Maricopa County Superior Court.
MCRC argued against the claim that Prop 479 amounts to a mere continuation of the state’s decades-old sales tax. In their lawsuit, MCRC argued that the proposition instills a new tax for new projects. What’s more, the committee argued that the proposition didn’t pass the 60 percent voter threshold needed for a new tax.
The measure gained 59.82 percent of the vote (out of two million voters); the measure was approved with 80 percent turnout.
Voters first established the half-cent tax in 1985 and last renewed it in 2004. The tax extends through 2045 under the proposition, which established a 20-year continuation. Maricopa County Association of Governments (MAG) estimated generated revenues to amount to $15 billion under 2020 dollars.
40 percent of the sales tax revenues go to freeways and highways, 22 percent go to arterial roads and regional transportation infrastructure, and 37 percent go to transit.
MAG further estimated that funds generated under the tax would allow for infrastructure that would keep the average commute length at 30 minutes through 2050, even after adding 1.7 million residents and 900,000 jobs.
Prop 479’s investment plan concerns reducing the average afternoon commute by one-third and reducing congestion by 51,000 hours on critical freight corridors daily. It also concerns increasing the number of amenities within a 30-minute drive by 12 percent, creating $2.4 billion in net new economic activity per year, saving local businesses $1.6 billion per year in travel time savings, and creating and supporting 31,600 jobs annually.
AZAGC President David Martin predicted the courts would dismiss the lawsuit before it gained any ground, but not soon enough to mitigate the damages of unnecessary costs to taxpayers. Martin avoided mention of the fiscal opportunities that contractors stand to make with the success of Prop 479.
“It’s clear this frivolous lawsuit has no merit and will eventually be thrown out by the courts” said Martin. “It’s hypocritical that these ‘conservatives’ insist on having tax dollars wasted defending a lawsuit that clearly will not stand up in the courts.
AZAGC claimed in its press release that the .05 cent sales tax is necessary because all benefit from county infrastructure, including MCRC members.
“The roads in Maricopa County are funded by the ½ cent sales tax as well as other taxes. Members of the MCRC use these roads to get to and from work, take their kids to school and go to the grocery store,” said the press release. “Instead of paying their fair share for public streets, members of the MCRC would rather have drivers stuck in traffic away from their families and pay exorbitant maintenance costs for damage caused by potholes.”
Among those siding with AZAGC were top Democratic leaders like Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. The mayor also issued a statement on the matter, adopting similar language to AZAGC in denouncing the MCRC lawsuit as “malignant,” “deeply flawed,” and “misguided.”
“Maricopa County voters overwhelmingly passed Prop 479 because they understand that a strong transportation system isn’t political—it’s critical to our future,” said Gallego.
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