Brewer puts state budget hole at $4B, unveils tax increase, budget plans - Business First of Louisville:

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Brewer has talked about a five-poin budget plan for months, but has not officially laid out her The Republican governor sent a budge outline to the Legislature on It includes asking voters to approvea 1-cent increase to the state’s 5.6 percent sales tax. She does not want to extend the salese tax to currently exempted servicedsand items. A Democratif plan unleashed last week would lower the saleztax rate, but exten it to various services not already The governor’s budget plan puts the fisca 2010 deficit at $4 billion, up from previouws estimates of $3 billion. Brewer’a budget also calls for a three-yearr phase-out of the $250 million state equalization rateproperty tax.
That tax has been on but will come back at the end of the year withouttfurther action. Business and real estate groupsz favor a full repeal of theequalizationn tax. “While the governor’s budget regarding state equalizatioh repeal is a step our organization cannot accept multiplre historic tax increases without requisite spending cuts that approach what the privatr sector hasalready endured,” said Tim Lawless, Arizonwa president of the National Association of Industrial and Officw Properties real estate group. “Nowe is especially not the time to raisd property taxes withthe Prop.
13 movement We are open, however, to a ballo referral that lets the people decid e whether they want the sales tax rate increased along with a future ballot measures to adjust automaticspending increases.” Lawless warned that bringing back a property tax that hits both homeowneres and businesses could help spur 2010 ballotg measures that impose California Proposition 13-stylee restrictions on property Brewer said the sales tax increase would be and she would like to see some reductionxs down the road to corporate and business taxes to help attracyt investments to the state.
Antitax advocates and conservative lawmakerws oppose the sales tax increasw and want to try to solve the fiscal 2010 budgeft withoutraising taxes. Brewer has promised to veto budgetsd that rely too much on federal stimulusa money and program cuts to balance the The governor’s budget also looks to protect university and publi c health funding via federal stimuluse money, and wants voters in 2010 to undo curren t restrictions that keep the Legislatures from cutting voter-mandated Teachers unions and Democrats oppose that idea.