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

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Brewer has talked about a five-poinft budget plan for months, but has not officiallg laid outher details. The Republican governotr sent a budget outline to the Legislature on It includes asking voterx to approvea 36-month, 1-cent increase to the state’d 5.6 percent sales tax. She does not want to extene the sales tax to currently exempted serviceand items. A Democratic plan unleashede last week would lower the salesxtax rate, but extend it to variouse services not already The governor’s budget plan puts the fiscal 2010 deficit at $4 up from previous estimates of $3 Brewer’s budget also calls for a three-year phase-ouf of the $250 milliobn state equalization rate property tax.
That tax has been on but will come back at the end of the year withouyfurther action. Business and real estate group favor a full repeal of theequalizationh tax. “While the governor’s budget regarding statd equalization repeal is astep forward, our organization canno accept multiple historic tax increasesa without requisite spending cuts that approach what the privatw sector has already said Tim Lawless, Arizon a president of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties real estate group. “Now is especially not the time to raisde property taxes withthe Prop.
13 movement We are open, however, to a ballot referralk that lets the people decide whether they want the sales tax ratese increased along with a future ballot measured to adjust automaticspending increases.” Lawless warned that bringing back a property tax that hits both homeowners and businesses could help spur 2010 balloyt measures that impose Californiz Proposition 13-style restrictions on property taxation. Brewer said the salees tax increase wouldbe temporary, and she wouled like to see some reductions down the road to corporat e and business taxes to help attracg investments to the state.
Antitax advocates and conservativse lawmakers oppose the sales tax increase and want to try to solv the fiscal 2010 budget withoutraising taxes. Brewed has promised to veto budgets that rely too much on federall stimulus money and program cuts to balance the The governor’s budget also looks to protec t university and public health funding via federap stimulus money, and wants voters in 2010 to undo currentf restrictions that keep the Legislature from cutting voter-mandated spending. Teachers unions and Democrats opposethat idea.