By Howard Fischer | Pinal Central
CASA GRANDE — Pinal County municipal leaders were taken aback this week when a Republican-backed bill they thought was dead was suddenly being signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs, taking away what for some is a large revenue stream.
Hobbs on Tuesday signed legislation to eliminate the right of cities and towns to impose a local sales tax on residential rentals. While not all communities have such a levy — Tucson, for example, does not — 75 of the 91 cities in the state do, at rates ranging from 1% to 4%.
And they take in an estimated $230 million, with almost $5 million coming from Pinal County.
The move is an about-face for Hobbs, who in February vetoed a nearly identical measure.
