https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2018/03/12/arizona-teache…

Arizona Republic readers who followed the teacher strike in West Virginia must be confused given the consistent drumbeat peddled here that Arizona has the worst teacher pay in the country.

While Arizona should attempt to drive additional dollars to classrooms to pay teachers competitive wages, there’s no reason for advocates to twist data to suggest we’re last in teacher pay.

https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2018/03/11/arizona-wrestles-wi…

Arizona lawmakers are wading into some uncharted waters in deciding whether to tax digital streaming services and cloud technology and software.

Their actions could impact taxes on Microsoft office products, streaming services such as Netflix (Nasdaq; NFLX) and music services such as Spotify.

https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2018/03/09/arizona-vince-leach-chuck-es…

The will of taxpayers is being evoked by both sides in the debate over a bill that would require school districts to sell property to charter or private schools when they are the highest bidders.

The Arizona House of Representatives approved 58-0 a bill adding some new reforms to property tax breaks that cities offer to developers and businesses.

House Bill 2126 ended up being a compromise measure between fiscal conservatives, real estate groups and cities over Government Property Lease Excise Taxes. or GPLETs.

GPLETs involve city governments owning land but leasing it to private developers and businesses who then pay lower property taxes than if they owned it outright.

The Roosevelt Elementary School District levied and spent $13.5 million earmarked for desegregation activities, but without operating any specific programs for that purpose, according to the an Arizona Auditor General’s Office report on the district’s spending in fiscal year 2016.

The auditor found that the district spent $13.3 million on salaries and benefits for teachers and other instructional staff, and the remaining $200,000 was spent on administration.

https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2018/02/02/big-fight-pits-legi…

A bill making its way through the Arizona Legislature puts restrictions on real estate deals crafted by state universities.

It sets up another big political fight between the Republican Legislature and state universities — specifically Arizona State University.

http://tucson.com/news/local/legislature-ponders-new-tax-plans-to-fix-t…

As this column has explored several times, any Pima County Board of Supervisors-approved sales tax would have to clear a high bar — a unanimous 5-0 vote.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe/2018/01/11/tempe-tax-b…

Tempe plans to give a $21 million tax break to land a hotel and conference center on Arizona State University land.

The Tempe City Council voted 6 to 1 to approve the deal on Thursday. Councilman Kolby Granville was the lone dissenter.

http://tucson.com/news/local/arizona-legislature-begins-monday-with-foc…
PHOENIX — Gov. Doug Ducey kicks off the legislative session Monday with a call for more education funding — but not with the tax hikes that some say are necessary to provide truly adequate funding for schools.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/robertrobb/2018/01/05/asu…

The State Farm complex overlooking Tempe Town Lake pays no property tax. That’s because Arizona State University, or more precisely the Arizona Board of Regents, is the nominal owner.