GOVERNMENT
BUILDING BETTER ROADS
1/2 - CENT SALES TAX
least $188 million shy for the next two fiscal years. That’s where Maricopa says the sales tax steps in. The city estimates the half-penny sales tax will generate about $8 million annually for the next 20 years, with an estimated 40% of the funds coming from construction sales. This means the city’s 75,000 or so residents would only be contributing about $64 each year. That amounts to a monthly contribution of just over $5. Asked if a municipality has ever successfully taxed its residents for projects outside its jurisdiction in the past, René Guillen, the deputy director of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, said, “We will not be providing a response to your questions.” Asked the same question, Arizona Tax Research Association Vice President Jennifer Stielow said, “No other project comes to mind.” “I’m curious why Maricopa wouldn’t just be patient for a couple of years until the revenue comes back,” said Stielow. (State lawmakers have passed a budget deal that erases a $1.4 billion shortfall.) “It’s curious to me, because we know the legislation is already working on [SR 347].” How we got here Maricopa has tried for eight years to raise funds for SR 347 through a county sales tax to little success. Pinal County voters in 2017 approved a half-cent tax that was projected to generate $600 million for the county’s transportation projects. This included an estimated $28.8 million that could have widened SR 347. However, conservative Phoenix thinktank Goldwater Institute challenged the legality of the tax shortly after the election, claiming it was “so complicated and confusing that nobody knows what is taxed and how.” The Pinal County Board of Supervisors at the time condemned the lawsuit, calling it “nothing more than a post-election attack by those who failed to convince voters to oppose” it. About $87 million in taxes were collected for four years until the Arizona Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in favor of the Goldwater Institute, calling the measure “an illegal tax.” Pinal County businesses have until next year to claim their refund. The county tried again in 2022. This ballot measure proposed over $1 billion in funding for county-wide transportation projects, which included $12 million dedicated to SR 347 improvements. While 63% of Maricopa residents voted in favor of the measure, it failed to meet the
There’s also a “taxation without represen- tation” argument flooding the comment space on social media. While modern versions of that rallying cry are more closely associated with Tea Party activism — “taxed enough already” — it was mainstream rationale for the bloc that opposed the tax in the recent survey. Residents from years past supported these taxes, but what about 2025 Maricopans? The ones financially stressed from inflation and an unstable market and emotionally stressed from their daily commute — would they support paying that extra nickel to widen their one way in and out of the city? The city says yes, they would. And it warns that sending the issue to voters wouldn’t result in any action until at least April 2027 — but if the council votes yes next week, things can get rolling while the temps are still three digits. “It has been a lot of work, but gosh, I can feel it,” said Mayor Nancy Smith at an April 19 Maricopa City Council meeting. “We just want to pull it over the line. There are no promises, but we feel like we’re really close.” How much would it generate? They don’t call Rep. Teresa Martinez “the 347 queen” for nothing. And whenever the Casa Grande Republican talks about the embattled highway, there’s one figure she consistently brings up.
BEFORE
AFTER
1 dozen eggs
$5.00
$5.00
WHAT WOULD THE SALES TAX FUND?
Gas p er gallon
MATTRESS & FURNITURE
• State Route 347 widening • State Route 238 improvements • Sonoran Desert Parkway • Other regional transportation projects
$2.99
$2.99
Fast-food m eal
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$12.00
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DATES TO KNOW
Refrigerator
$800
OCT. 2045 The tax would expire
OCT. 1 Sales tax may become effective
MAY 6 City council
$804
votes on sales tax
Learn more at www.maricopa-az.gov
That’s excluding any additional infrastructure or delays, she adds. That number grows with each passing year, too. Next year, it may be $11 million. SR 347 currently needs roughly $396 million to cross most items off its wish list: the Riggs Road overpass, widening the highway, resurfacing projects and intersection redesigns. Widening efforts alone for the Pinal County portion of the highway would cost an estimated $145 million, according to Maricopa City Manager Ben Bitter. And while Maricopa’s representatives are working to secure about $69 million from state and county funds, the SR 347 coffers are still at
WHAT WOULDN’T BE TAXED?
$1,599
Queen $4,999
While Supplies Last
• Lodging • Food for home consumption • Metal mining
$1,799
King $5,999
QUEEN SET
QUEEN SET
WHAT WOULD BE TAXED?
“Did you know that construction costs $10 million a mile, depending on the road? Ten million dollars a mile,” Martinez emphasized at the Capitol in March. TAX RATES ACROSS ARIZONA MARICOPA BY THE NUMBERS
• Advertising • Amusements • Communications
• Contracting* • Job printing • Manufactured buildings • MRRA • Publication • Rental, leasing and licensing • Restaurants and bars • Retail sales • Timbering and other extraction • Transporting BY THE NUMBERS Only 8 cities currently have a lower sales tax rate than Maricopa, despite Maricopa being the 17th largest city in the state. Maricopa ranks 70th out of 91 cities in per capita sales tax collections. GROWTH • Use tax • Utilities *Tax that will increase from 3½ to 4%. The median sales tax rate in the state is 2.95%. Maricopa currently charges 2.0%. The proposed rate is 2.50%. STATEWIDE
TAX RATES IN PINAL, MARICOPA COUNTIES
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
Maricopa (Currently) Casa Grande Florence Surprise Queen Creek Apache Junction Maricopa (Proposed)
2% 2% 2%
$1,399
$1,499
2.2%
2.25%
2.4%
2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5%
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Avondale Goodyear Marana Oro Valley Phoenix Prescott Valley
0% Interest O.A.C
2.8% 2.83%
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Buckeye Coolidge Eloy Kearny Mammoth Superior
3% 3% 3%
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4% 4% 4%
602-366-0447
44360 W. Edison Road, Suite 100 Maricopa, AZ
Source: City of Maricopa
InMaricopa.com | May 2025
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