A three-judge panel on the Arizona Court of Appeals heard oral arguments last Tuesday in the Goldwater Institute’s (GI) legal challenge to a $1.2 billion sales tax the City of Scottsdale referred to the ballot this fall. GI said the City’s description of Proposition 490 made the tax for parks out to be a tax decrease, when it really was a new tax. GI was appealing a dismissal of its lawsuit by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael Gordon, who was appointed to the bench by Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano.
In its executive summary about the lawsuit, GI stated, “The City of Scottsdale is attempting to trick Scottsdale residents into approving a tax increase by calling it a tax reduction.” GI cited Arizona law, Molera v. Hobbs, which prohibits bait and switch tactics with ballot measures.
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