Tucson NAWBO Chapter Advocates for Lower Business Property Taxes

Lots going on in the Arizona legislature that will affect small businesses from possible taxes on services, to minimum wage increases, to business property tax rates. The Arizona Daily Star has this story on policy changes that would affect the bottom line for small businesses in the state.

Stepping up as to advocate for lower business property taxes on behalf of NAWBO Tuscon is Lola Kakes, southwest regional public policy coordinator for NAWBO and Tucson chapter public policy representative:

Business property tax
Until last year, business property taxes were levied at 25 percent of the full cash value of a business, compared with 10 percent for homeowners.

A provision included in this fiscal year's budget lowered the rate to 24.5 percent. The rate will continue to decline a half-percent each year, finally resting on 20 percent in 2015.

The Arizona Citizens Finance Review Commission has recommended further lowering the tax to make the state more competitive. But it's estimated that $350 million in tax revenues would be lost or mitigated by a rise in taxes for homeowners.

For: The National Association of Women Business Owners has made "fair and equitable tax treatment for small business" one of its top public policy issues. "We know that larger organizations have better tax breaks than small businessmen," said Lola Kakes, public policy chairwoman for the Tucson chapter of NAWBO. "So we're just trying to get some tax equity."

Against: The state should take a cautious approach to anything that might cut tax revenue prematurely, said Tom Fraker, executive director of the Arizona Small Business Association. In cases where a surplus is rumored to exist, "everyone jumps on the bandwagon to get a piece of it," he said. "In reality, it doesn't take much of a turn in the economy for that surplus to disappear."

Rather, he suggested waiting until the effects of the 2006 tax reduction on the state treasury can be evaluated.