The City Council has adopted changes to the Phoenix Tax Code in cooperation with the business community. This Tax Bulletin has been prepared to notify you of the changes in the Phoenix Tax Code with effective dates as shown below.

Below are the amendments addressed by ordinance G-4799:

Low-Income Housing - Effective July 1, 2006.
• Exempts residential rental to low-income tenants where a federal limitation caps the rent paid by the tenant – currently applies almost exclusively to units partially funded by federal tax credits.
  
  Refunds - Effective October 1, 2005.
• Requires the city to issue a written decision on a refund claim and advise the taxpayer of their appeal rights.
• Makes miscellaneous procedural changes to the refund process.
  
  Interest - Effective October 1, 2005.
• Changes the City’s interest rate on unpaid tax balances outstanding after September 2005 to match the quarterly variable interest rate charged by the state. Reduced from the prior annual fixed rate of 12% to a variable rate that is currently 7%.
• Matches the City’s interest rate on refunded tax to match the interest charged. Increased from an approximate annual rate of 3.5% (rate earned by the City on investments) to a current 7% annual rate.
  
  Application Fees
• Raises the application fee from $16 to $20 for the privilege (sales) tax license in order to recover the full cost of issuing the license for applications received by the City after June 30, 2006.

The changes to the Phoenix Tax Code were published in the Record Reporter on June 9, 2006.

The Phoenix Tax Code is available on the Internet. A copy can also be provided on computer disk in a variety of formats.

If you have specific questions regarding the changes to the Phoenix Tax Code, please call the Tax Division at 602-262-6586.