Tagged: sales tax

The initiative launched last week would kick in on June 1st, 2013, the day after the current three-year temporary tax hike approved by voters expires. Proponents say the money is needed to ensure adequate funding for education, with some cash earmarked for transit projects and programs for children. Governor Jan Brewer, who pushed that temporary levy, said her main concern is THAT one expires as she promised.

An initiative drive launched today seeks to let voters decide if they want to make permanent the 1-cent sales tax set to expire next year. 

The proposal would earmark about 75 percent of the billion dollars a year for education, mostly for K-12 funding but also for college scholarships. Initiative organizer Ann-Eve Pedersen said this is not just throwing money at the problem, with some public school funding tied to performance.

One of the nation's largest online retailers beat back a legislative effort Thursday to force it to start collecting taxes on its sales to state residents. 

In Phoenix, State Lawmakers are working on legislation requiring Amazon-dot-com to collect sales taxes on Arizona purchases.

The effort is partially an attempt to reap revenue from all those internet sales.

It’s also an attempt to keep Arizonans from bypassing what one report called the second highest sales tax rate in the country.

According to the DC-based Tax Foundation, the average Arizonan pays 9.12% in sales taxes.

Of course, an average means some people pay more, some pay less, depending on where you live.

 State senators voted Monday for legislation Monday that could effectively undermine any effort by voters to hike their own sales taxes for education. 

The loophole allows some online retailers to escape having to pay state sales taxes. 

     PHOENIX (AP) _ Arizona is moving toward making online merchants
collect sales tax on residents' purchases, a departure from the
state's previous hands-office stance.
     The state Revenue Department has billed Amazon.com for $53
million in uncollected sales taxes for nearly five years.
     Amazon says it's contesting the state's assessment, which the
company disclosed in its latest annual report.
     At the Legislature, Arizona lawmakers have introduced a bill to
require Amazon.com and other retailers with distribution centers in