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Commercial property tax reduction recommended to spur growth in Arizona

A new report from a leading Arizona economist finds that the state鈥檚 economic development prospects would brighten if policymakers made the commercial property tax more competitive.

Jim Rounds

An analysis of tax rates in key markets in the Southwest and the West found that Arizona has some of the highest for office and industrial space, putting it at a disadvantage in the region. 

鈥淚n Arizona, the commercial property tax remains relatively high despite recent efforts to reduce the business tax burden,鈥 said Jim Rounds, an economist specializing in public policy and economic forecasting, who prepared the report for the of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP). 鈥淪tate tax policy must be designed so businesses can remain competitive.鈥 

Currently, the state鈥檚 assessment ratio on commercial property stands at 18 percent versus 10 percent for residential, Rounds鈥 analysis shows. 

鈥淭his means that office industrial, retail and other business properties are paying significantly higher property taxes than comparable residential properties,鈥 he said.

Legislation would gradually reduce assessment ratio

To remedy the situation, Rounds recommends passage of a proposal at the state Legislature to gradually phase down the commercial property assessment ratio from 18 percent to 17 percent over the next two years. 

Suzanne Kinney

Ideally, dropping the rate down to 15 percent over time would be a strong catalyst for investment here, Rounds said. 

Business advocacy organizations statewide are in support of the proposal, including the Arizona Chapter of the NAIOP, which represents developers, owners and investors of office, industrial, retail and mixed-use real estate in the state.

鈥淐oming out of the pandemic, there are going to be a lot of companies looking to relocate and we want the whole state of Arizona to be in that top tier of the markets that companies are going to when they are either locating or expanding into the western region,鈥 said Suzanne Kinney, Arizona NAIOP president and CEO. 

鈥淩ight now, the commercial property tax is one area where we鈥檙e simply not competitive, and unfortunately, it causes us to not make it into the final consideration for some site selectors.鈥

Office and industrial tax rates 鈥渢hrough the roof鈥 

According to the report, compared to the most popular markets in the Western United States, Arizona has the second highest commercial property tax rate for industrial space and third highest for office.  

鈥淗ouston is at the top of the list, but it鈥檚 not apples to apples. They have zero income tax and extremely generous cash incentives,鈥 Kinney said. 

And while everyone is celebrating recent successes in Arizona with the semiconductor sector, most of these companies are located in Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs), which provide cost savings and incentives, she said. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 a wonderful program, but it鈥檚 not available to all companies,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hey are restricted to certain geographic areas and companies get a dramatic reduction in their property tax and that鈥檚 factored into their decision to choose Arizona.

鈥淲hat we鈥檙e really hoping for is to broaden out the competitive nature of our tax climate so that businesses, wherever they want to locate in the state, are going to see us as a competitive market.鈥

Reduced tax revenues would be offset by economic growth 

By dropping the tax rate from 18 to 17 percent, the Legislature estimates that the net assessed value reduction will equal $1.39 billion by tax year 2023. That represents a  1.7 percent reduction, Rounds said. 

That does not mean the tax burden would have to be shifted to residential or other classifications, Rounds said. There are a number of factors that could easily offset the loss in tax revenues. 

For one, other incentives currently in place for businesses could be removed or reduced down the line. Years of rising commercial property values have also increased tax revenues from the sector and that will continue with new growth.   

鈥淪tatewide commercial property values have been increasing by more than 6 percent per year over the last five years,鈥 the report states. 鈥淭hus, the anticipated growth will more than full offset any modest reductions in the assessment ratio.鈥 

A reduction in the commercial assessment ratio of the property tax formula would result in municipalities modifying local government tax rates, resulting in a 鈥渕ore competitive balance鈥 in the tax code, the report says. 

History shows it works 

Arizona has taken steps in the past to reduce commercial property taxes. Prior to 2006, the assessment ratio on commercial property was 25 percent. 

Over the past 15 years, the ratio has gradually reduced to 18 percent. As the rate declined, the value of commercial property increased at an average annual rate of 5.1 percent between 2000 and 2020, according to the analysis. 

That improved the state鈥檚 competitive position, helping fuel new economic growth and resulted in 鈥渁 net gain in tax collections.鈥 

小红帽直播apps, utilities and trade associations in support 

Organizations in support of lowering the tax rate for commercial property include:

Arizona Association For Economic Development

Arizona 小红帽直播app of Commerce and Industry 

Arizona Fire District Association

Arizona Free Enterprise Club

Arizona Public Service Company

Arizona Tax Research Association

Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater Phoenix

East Valley 小红帽直播app of Commerce Alliance

Greater Phoenix 小红帽直播app of Commerce 

Lumen Technologies 

National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, Arizona Chapter 

National Federation of Independent Businesses

National Association of Commercial Real Estate Executives for Economic Development, Arizona Chapter 

National Association of Theatre Owners 

Salt River Project

Southwest Gas 

Tucson Metropolitan 小红帽直播app of Commerce

Victoria Harker

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