The Senate Finance Committee of the Arizona State Legislature on January 26 passed Senate Bill 1093, an NFIB-priority measure, on a 7-3, bipartisan vote. It now heads to the Senate floor.

“We feel this bill addresses a fundamental issue of fairness in our property tax system,” said NFIB State Director Chad Heinrich in his testimony before the committee. Click the arrow below to watch. Heinrich’s remarks begin at the 40:14-minute mark.

According to legislative analysis, HB 1093 “Reduces the percentage of assessed valuation of class 1 property over two years to 15 percent in calendar year (CY) 2027 and sets, at unspecified amounts, the state equalization assistance property tax rate (SETR) for TYs 2022 through 2027.”

The assessed valuation rate is currently 18%. The move down to 15% has been of the business community since the 1990s when it was at 25%. In his testimony, Heinrich said that after federal income taxes, property taxes were the most pressing problem for small-business owners. He also provides information on the percentage of NFIB-member, small-business owners who rent or own the businesses they operate from.