1. Impose a zero percent (0.00%) rate on food for home consumption effective April 1, 2015.

2. Impose a 0.50% rate on advertising.

3. Impose a 4.70% rate on telecommunications effective February 1, 1998. 

4. Impose a 2.70% rate on utilities effective October 1, 1985.

5. Impose a 2.70% rate on wastewater removal services effective July 1, 1988.

6. Impose an additional 2.30% on Hotels plus a 3.00% rate on Transient Lodging effective January 1, 2016.

7. Jet fuel taxed at $.00732 per gallon effective October 1, 1991.

8. Section 14-407 is added as follows:

Sec. 14-407. Advertising: assignment of contractual liability to remit advertising taxes; conditions; requirements; suspension of liability; reinstatement of liability; suspension of limits of actions. (a) General conditions. Subject to all other provisions of this Section, the right of a taxpayer to enforce a contractual obligation of a customer to reimburse him for taxes imposed upon the gross income from local advertising in Section 14-405 may be assigned to the City for collection if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) there exists a legally enforceable agreement between the media and the person liable for the payment to the media for the advertisement ("advertiser"), requiring said advertiser to reimburse the media for any tax imposed upon the media by the City for local advertising; and

(2) the advertiser fails to reimburse the media for such tax within ninety (90) days of billing therefor; and

(3) such failure can be documented to the satisfaction of the Tax Collector.

(b) Assignment. Subject to the provisions for reinstatement set forth in this Section, the right to enforce the tax reimbursement provisions provided in subsection (a)(1) above may be assigned by the media, as provided by Regulation, after the ninety (90) day period provided in subsection (a)(2) above, and the liability of the media to pay such tax shall be suspended until the advertiser has paid the tax or the liability of the media has been reinstated as provided by this Section.

(c) Reinstatement due to administrative or judicial review. In the event that it is determined, in the manner provided in this Chapter, by the Hearing Officer in any action for administrative review or by the courts in judicial review of such administrative review, that the alleged liability of the advertiser to reimburse the media is barred by any defense, affirmative or otherwise, which would have existed between the media and the advertiser, the assignment to the City provided in this Section shall be cancelled, and the suspended liability of the media will be reinstated upon issuance of a judgment or order by said court, or upon delivery of a ruling by the Hearing Officer, establishing such defense.

(d) Suspension of limitations. For the purposes of this Section only, the limitation of actions provided elsewhere in this Chapter shall not apply to tax liabilities assigned or reinstated by this Section, and the City may initiate either an assessment or a court action at any time up to four (4) years following the assignment of such taxes to the City, or four (4) years after the ruling, judgment, or order establishing the reinstatement of such tax liability to the media.

9. Section 14-446 is added as follows: (effective March 1, 1988)

Sec. 14-446. Additional tax on non-residential rental business activity.

In addition to the taxes levied under Section 14-445, there is hereby levied and shall be collected by the Tax Collector an additional tax in an amount equal to one tenth of one percent (0.10%) of the gross income from the business activity of any person engaged in rental, leasing or licensing of nonresidential property or property units.

10. Section 452 is added as follows: (effective June 1, 1989)

Sec. 14-452. Rental, leasing, and licensing for use of tangible personal property: additional tax upon short-term motor vehicle rental.

(a) In addition to the taxes levied as provided in Section 14-450, there is hereby levied and shall be collected an additional tax in an amount equal to two percent (2.00%) of the gross income from the business activity of any person engaging or continuing in the business of leasing, licensing for use, or renting any motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of less than twelve thousand (12,000) pounds for a term of not more than thirty-one (31) calendar days, such term to be determined as follows:

(1) if prior to or at the commencement of the lease, license or use of the motor vehicle, the lessor and lessee have agreed in writing that, excluding charges for mileage and damage, the primary consideration shall be a fixed amount based upon the time for such lease, license or use, the term shall be determined by the total period for which such fixed amount is or was charged or paid for such motor vehicle use; or,

(2) in all other cases, the term shall be deemed to begin upon the date of first possession or use of said vehicle and to conclude when such possession or use ceases.

(b) Gross income from transactions specified in Subsection 14-450(c) shall be exempt from the Privilege Taxes imposed by this Section.

11. Regulation 14-407.1 is added as follows:

Reg. 14-407.1. Advertising: assignment of taxes.

(a) For the purpose of effectuating the assignment provisions of Section 14-407, and in order for a person subject to the tax on local advertising to qualify for a suspension of tax liability upon such gross income from local advertising when the advertiser has failed to reimburse the taxpayer for taxes due, the taxpayer must submit to the Tax Collector all of the following:

(1) sufficient evidence to indicate that the advertiser has failed or refused to pay the separately stated and billed City Privilege Tax in question when paying for the advertisement in question and

(2) evidence of the amount of tax unpaid; and

(3) either of the following:

(A) a properly executed written contract for the advertisement in question obligating the advertiser to reimburse the media for the separately stated City privilege Tax on local advertising.

(B) a published rate card, schedule, proposal, availabilities sheet, or confirmation notice which was in effect and distributed by means recognized in the industry as establishing advertising rates applicable to the advertisement in question which clearly states that all billings for advertising or that the billing in question will have City Privilege Tax added thereto.

(b) Examples of sufficient evidence to establish the amount of unpaid City tax as a deduction for this Section:

(1) a rate card for the advertising in question stating that City tax will be added to all billings, plus an invoice showing the City tax as a separately itemized charge to the principal amount, plus a copy of the remittance of the taxpayer paying only the principal amount and not the tax.

(2) an invoice showing the City tax as a separately itemized charge to the principal amount, plus correspondence from the advertiser to the media indicating that as a matter of policy it refuses to pay any added tax on advertising.

(c) Reporting requirements.

(1) All taxpayers shall report "assigned taxes" as a deduction in the reporting period occurring ninety (90) days after payment of advertising income (with non-payment) of taxes occurs; and

(2) The amount of gross income from local advertising to which such to-be-assigned taxes relate must be included and reported as part of the gross receipts of the taxpayer and itemized as "Assigned Taxes - Advertising" as a deduction from such receipts on the taxpayer's return; and

(3) The documentation required by Section 14-407 to support the claim of assignment of taxes must accompany the return claiming such assignment as a deduction.

12. On August 25, 2015, Phoenix voters approved Proposition 104 which led to the adoption of Ordinance S-41591 and Ordinance G-6073. These ordinances allowed for a two-level tax structure for “big ticket” items under retail and use tax effective January 1, 2016. Effective January 01, 2016, this City has a 2% rate on the portion of a single item of tangible personal property that exceeds $10,000. The portion of the single item, under $10,000 is taxed at the rate of 2.3%. The initial threshold was set at $10,000, but the ordinances also required that this threshold will be adjusted for inflation on a biennial basis beginning January 1, 2018. For information on the latest retail and use tax threshold amounts and their corresponding Business Codes, please see the Arizona Department of Revenue’s Tax Rate Table for Phoenix. 

13. New threshold amounts for the retail sales and use tax two-level tax rate structure, as approved by Phoenix voters with Proposition 104 on August 25, 2015, go into effect January 1, 2022. The inflationary adjustment to the threshold amount affects sales transacted beginning with January 1, 2022 and through December 31, 2023 tax periods. The current threshold amount of $10,968 will be adjusted by an incremental amount of $663 to $11,631 for "big ticket" items under corresponding retail and use tax business codes.

14. Beginning January 1, 2024, new inflationary adjustment threshold amounts for retail sales and use tax, two-level tax rate structure goes into effect. The corresponding business codes will be adjusted by an incremental amount of $2,255 to $13,886 for “big ticket” items as approved by voters with Proposition 104 on August 25, 2015. The adjustment affects sales transacted between tax periods January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2025.

Transaction Privilege Tax

2.30% (effective January 1, 2016)

2.00% (effective December 1, 2007)

1.80% (effective June 1, 2000)  

1.40% (effective November 1, 1999)

1.30% (until October 31, 1999)

Use Tax

2.30% (effective January 1, 2016)

2.00% (effective December 1, 2007)

1.80% (effective June 1, 2000)  

1.40% (effective November 1, 1999)

1.30% (until October 31, 1999)