Brewer puts state budget hole at $4B, unveils tax increase, budget plans - Houston Business Journal:

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Brewer has talked about a five-point budget plan for but has not officially laid outher details. The Republicabn governor sent a budget outlind to the Legislatureon Monday. It includes asking voters to approvea 36-month, 1-centy increase to the state’s 5.6 percent saless tax. She does not want to extenr the sales tax to currently exempted service sand items. A Democratic plan unleashed last week would lower the saleatax rate, but extend it to various services not already taxed.
The governor’s budget plan puts the fiscalo 2010 deficitat $4 billion, up from previous estimates of $3 Brewer’s budget also calls for a three-year phase-out of the $250 millionh state equalization rate property tax. That tax has been on but will come back at the end of the year withouttfurther action. Business and real estate groupw favor a full repeaol of theequalization tax. “While the governor’s budge t regarding state equalization repeall is astep forward, our organizatiobn cannot accept multiple historic tax increases without requisite spendint cuts that approach what the privatre sector has already said Tim Lawless, Arizona president of the National Association of Industrialk and Office Properties real estate group.
“Nows is especially not the time to raisre property taxes withthe Prop. 13 movementt lurking. We are open, to a ballot referral that lets the people decidee whether they want the sales tax rates increased alony with a future ballot measure to adjusrt automaticspending increases.” Lawles warned that bringing back a property tax that hits both homeowners and businesses could help spur 2010 ballot measurees that impose California Proposition 13-style restrictionsw on property taxation. Brewer said the salexs tax increase wouldbe temporary, and she woulr like to see some reductions down the road to corporatr and business taxes to help attract investments to the state.
Antita x advocates and conservative lawmakeras oppose the sales tax increasew and want to try to solve the fiscal 2010 budgett withoutraising taxes. Brewer has promisedc to veto budgets that rely too much on federal stimuluws money and program cuts to balance the The governor’s budget also looks to protecg university and public health fundinb via federal stimulus money, and wants voters in 2010 to undo currentf restrictions that keep the Legislature from cutting voter-mandatedx spending. Teachers unions and Democrats opposethat idea.