Gloria Rebecca Gomez(Arizona Mirror) Arizonans can now look forward to relief from rental taxes, after Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill on Tuesday that bars cities from collecting them starting in 2025.The measure was at the top of Republicans’ legislative priorities for the recently concluded legislative session. A proposal sent to Hobbs in February was roundly rejected, but a revised version was quickly drafted and soon became a bargaining chip in the stalemate between GOP leadership and Hobbs over Proposition 400, a Maricopa County transportation funding tax that requires a legislative referral for voters to consider.And on Tuesday, a day after lawmakers pushed through a solution for Prop. 400 and ended a historically long legislative session, Hobbs delivered.Republicans celebrated the win, calling it a much needed reprieve for people struggling to pay their monthly bills. Arizona ranks in the five worst states in the country for affordable housing, and metro Phoenix is particularly hard-hit, with rents that have skyrocketed as much as 80% in the past decade.“Rental prices aren’t going down anytime soon, and Arizona tenants are agonizing over just how much more expensive it is now to rent an apartment or house than ever before” said Sen. Sine Kerr, R-Buckeye, in an emailed statement. “This bill will provide some help, and I’m proud the Majority Caucus spearheaded this change in tax policy.”Senate Bill 1131 bars cities and towns from levying a tax on residential rental properties beginning in 2025. The tax, commonly passed down to tenants from landlords, varies between municipalities but the average rate is 2.5%, which results in a $30 charge on a monthly rent of about $1,200. Landlords will also be required to lower the total rental bill starting in 2025 by the tax amount, but will only have to do so until 2027.Cities on the losing endAs many as 75 municipalities across Arizona collect rental taxes and the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, which lobbies on their behalf, along with a number of mayors, voiced fierce opposition to the first proposed ban and continued to denounce the second iteration. They warned that eliminating the revenue source would do nothing to help renters but instead force local governments to slash services or r …
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