PHOENIX, AZ - The Arizona State Senate voted Tuesday to ask voters for a three-year hike in the state sales tax, as proposed by Governor Jan Brewer just after she assumed office last year. The 16-12 Senate vote came despite the outcry from several lawmakers who say that asking voters for more money is a bad idea.
One of the governor's more vocal opponents on the idea is District 3 State Senator Ron Gould of Lake Havasu City. He cites a study performed for the Goldwater Institute that said a 1-cent hike in sales taxes will result in the loss of 14,400 jobs.
“We’re going to be moving money out of the private sector and into the public sector,” Gould told the Tri-State News Network. Breaking down the vote, Gould adds that there were nine Republican "yes" votes and seven more from the Democrats. "It's mostly the rural Democrats that voted no," Gould said.
The vote sends the proposal to the House, where Gould said, "I don't think they have the votes right now. But without running the laundry list, I couldn't really tell you," regarding an approximate breakdown of the possible vote there.
Meanwhile, if the sales tax plan gets the necessary approval from the House, voters will have the final say in May.
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