Bond passed, but it's no mandate

Mar. 25, 2006 12:00 AM

Four percent of Phoenix residents voted on March 14 to raise property taxes for the rest of the city. The million-dollar special-interest goliath called "Building Our Future" won this round.

But it's no mandate.

Stop Taxing Our Property is now the Maricopa County chapter of the Arizona Tax Revolt. The Arizona Tax Revolt, which will be on the ballot in November, will roll back your property-tax assessment to its 2003 level and require a supermajority to pass anything funded by property taxes.

Best of all, when Arizona Tax Revolt passes in November, property-tax reassessments will be limited to a maximum increase of 2 percent per year, rather than the 20-100 percent increases people in Maricopa County experienced this year.

Stop Taxing Our Property spent about 25 cents per vote to get the truth out about how the 2006 Phoenix bond program would raise property taxes in Phoenix. Building Our Future spent about $20 per vote to convince people that the bond program was free.

The large developers, special interests, banks and politicians who backed Building Our Future and who will directly benefit from the Phoenix bond won this round.

But Stop Taxing Our Property is not going away. We're still here, better financed and ready to go.

Through the Arizona Tax Revolt initiative, residents and businesses in Maricopa County will be able to protect their property from ever-increasing taxation and poorly designed and irresponsible bond schemes.

Jeff Greenspan Phoenix, Arizona

The writer is chairman of Stop Taxing Our Property, Maricopa County Chapter, Arizona Tax Revolt. For more information, visit ArizonaTaxRevolt.org or MaricopaTaxRevolt.org.