Tucson’s business community has come out in opposition to a proposed sales tax.
On Tuesday, the Tucson Metro Chamber Board of Directors voted to oppose Proposition 414, the city of Tucson’s “Safe and Vibrant City” half-cent sales tax ballot referendum slated for a special election on March 11.
“Tucson absolutely needs to address public safety, homelessness, housing affordability, and other critical community investments. However, we believe there is a more effective way to do so—one that does not increase everyday costs for families and businesses or weaken our region’s economic competitiveness,” said Tucson Metro Chamber president and CEO Michael Guymon.
Prop 414 would raise the city’s sales tax rate from 8.7% to 9.2% for 10 years, one of the highest tax rates of any major Arizona city or town, higher than the state average of 8.12%, and higher than the immediate surrounding unincorporated Pima County, currently at 6.1%. Prop 414 would seek to raise funding for varied priorities including public safety, workforce development, housing, neighborhood investment, urban forestry, arts, culture investments, and more.
“The Chamber has been, and will continue to be, a ready partner for the city in working on big issues, especially those that increase funding for public safety,” Guymon said. “Since 2017, we and our members have advocated for, funded, and supported numerous city initiatives, such as Prop 101 to fund police, fire, and roads; Prop 407 to fund parks and connections; and Prop 413 to increase the long-outdated salary for the mayor and councilmembers. But Prop 414 lacks that focused approach, and we question its proposed impact on city services as well as the impact of higher taxes on residents and businesses.”
Tucson Metro Chamber’s staff, Public Policy Council, and Board expressed these additional concerns after meeting with city council members and staff:
• Businesses operating in the City of Tucson will be at a competitive disadvantage against their other counterparts in unincorporated Pima County and the other jurisdictions that have a lower sales tax rate.
• Similar communities facing declines in state-shared revenues are seeking means other than
initiating a new sales tax, such as auditing their budgets and departments for inefficiencies and delaying nonessential projects for a later year, all without decreasing service levels.
• The city created programs with one-time allocations from the American Rescue Plan Act of
2021 and the city’s general fund over the past four years, and it may not be responsible to ask taxpayers to continue funding them through Prop 414.
• Unlike prior packages, Prop 414 was largely developed internally, between city council and
staff, and not collaboratively with a diverse group of community stakeholders prior to
placement on the ballot.
• Unlike past propositions that focused on one or two key issues, Prop 414 is a scatter-shot
approach, with varying amounts of investment scattered across a variety of priorities. An
unfocused approach is less likely to put the right amount of funding in the right places to deliver the desired result.
“One thing is certain for us – we continue to be a staunch supporter of our public safety professionals,” Guymon said. “We know more resources are needed to tackle the big challenges our city faces, like public safety and housing affordability, but without the willingness to uncover cuts or other revenue streams, we cannot support this proposition in its current form.”
