More Opposition to the Big Boondoggle Bill of 2008

NOTE: The Cactus League Baseball Proposal is part of the bill that the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers is calling the Big Boondoggle Bill of 2008. Please call Speaker Jim Weier's office at 602-926-4173 and urge him to rethink his support of this measure. If you would prefer to email, his email address is jweiers@azleg.gov.
Re: Cactus League Baseball Proposal

Dear Representative,

On behalf of the Arizona Restaurant Association (ARA) I am writing to respectfully request that you oppose the Cactus League Baseball proposal which would create a 0.75% tax on restaurants, bars, hotels and rental car companies. As you know, this proposal is part of the Jobs Creation Package which is expected to be voted on very soon. As recently as today, there has been discussion on modifying this proposal but keeping the above mentioned entities as the tax revenue source, we oppose this recommendation as well. The ARA understands the importance of preserving and promoting the sport’s industry in Southern Arizona, however, imposing a tax on restaurants, bars, hotels and rental cars is not the answer.

Issues such as these are not taken lightly and as a member-based organization we contacted each of our Southern Arizona members to get their understanding and position on the proposed measure. We found that members are overwhelmingly opposed to any additional tax increase on our industry including a tax for Cactus League Baseball. Our members are in part against this measure because the revenue generated from sports in Southern Arizona is beneficial to all businesses and forcing a select few to shoulder the burden is not a fair or palatable solution to this problem.

Furthermore, restaurants generate 24% of their revenue from tourism while hotels and rental cars generate 2.5 to 3 times that amount from tourism…clearly the paradigm is different for restaurants in this case. We want to see baseball training thrive in Southern Arizona. However, we cannot support a measure that unfairly taxes an industry and thus forces a select few to pay for a measure that would benefit all Southern Arizona businesses.

On behalf of the Arizona Restaurant Association, I thank you for your consideration and urge you to oppose the Cactus League Baseball component of the Jobs Creation Package. As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.

Sincerely,

Steve Chucri
President and CEO
Arizona Restaurant Association