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

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Brewer has talked about a five-point budget plan for months, but has not officiallhy laid outher details. The Republican governoer sent a budget outlind to the Legislatureon Monday. It includea asking voters to approvea 36-month, 1-cent increase to the state’s 5.6 percent sales tax. She does not want to extened the sales tax to currently exempted servicesand items. A Democratic plan unleashed last week woulrd lower the salestax rate, but extend it to variousx services not already taxed. The governor’s budget plan puts the fiscal 2010 deficitat $4 billion, up from previouz estimates of $3 billion.
Brewer’ s budget also calls for a three-year phase-out of the $250 milliomn state equalization rateproperty tax. That tax has been on hiatus, but will come back at the end of the year withougtfurther action. Business and real estate groupw favor a full repeal of theequalizatiomn tax. “While the governor’s budget regarding state equalization repealo is astep forward, our organizatioj cannot accept multiple historixc tax increases without requisite spending cuts that approach what the privatde sector has already endured,” said Tim Lawless, Arizonwa president of the National Association of Industrial and Officr Properties real estate group.
“Now is especiall not the time to raise propertgy taxes withthe Prop. 13 movement We are open, to a ballot referral that lets the people decid whether they want the sales tax rates increasee along with a future ballof measure to adjust automatic spending Lawless warned that bringin back a property tax that hits both homeowner s and businesses could help spur 2010 ballot measures that imposre CaliforniaProposition 13-style restrictions on property Brewer said the sales tax increase would be and she would like to see some reductions down the road to corporatee and business taxes to help attractr investments to the state.
Antitax advocates and conservatives lawmakers oppose the sales tax increase and want to try to solvse the fiscal 2010 budget withoutraising taxes. Brewe r has promised to veto budgetds that rely too much on federaol stimulus money and program cuts to balancethe budget. The governor’s budget also looks to protect university and publix health funding via federalstimulus money, and wantsa voters in 2010 to undo current restriction s that keep the Legislature from cutting voter-mandated Teachers unions and Democrats oppose that idea.