<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0nv6lb_0v6VYiG000" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0nv6lb_0v6VYiG000" width="1920" height="1080" ><figcaption>Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios</figcaption></figure>The Scottsdale City Council changed the description of a tax measure for the November ballot after a court ruled the original characterization was misleading.Why it matters: What ends up on the ballot "might be the last or only description the electorate sees before voting on the measure," the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in a case over a 2012 ballot description.Catch up quick: Scottsdale voters in 1995 approved a 0.2% sales tax increase to fund the city's land purchase for the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.<ul><li>That tax expires next year.</li><li>Proposition 490, which the city referred to the ballot, would authorize a new 30-year tax to provide funding for city parks and recreation facilities along with maintenance and protection of the preserve.</li><li>The new 0.15% tax would be lower than the expiring one.</li></ul>The big picture: In a lawsuit filed by the conservative Goldwater Institute, the Arizona Court of Appeals on Monday <a href="https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/OrderAcceptingSpecialActionJurisdictionAndGra-5236183-0.pdf">ruled</a> that Scottsdale's ballot description is misleading.<ul><li>It states the 0.20% sales tax would be "replaced and reduced."</li><li>The court found that Prop. 490 wouldn't "reduce" the current tax because the original tax is expiring and the measure "would implement a brand-new tax."</li></ul>State of play: Prop. 490 will still be on the ballot after the Scottsdale City Council voted Tuesday to change the ballot description.<ul><li>The new ballot language states that Prop. 490 would "enact a transaction privilege and use tax rate of 0.15% for 30 years … upon the expiration of the current 0.20% tax rate.</li><li>Prop. 490 is expected to generate about $1.15 billion over 30 years, <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/scottsdale/2024/08/20/goldwater-wins-appeal-to-block-1-2b-scottsdale-park-tax/74862923007/">the Arizona Republic reported</a>.</li></ul>The other side: By approving a new description 24 hours before the county's ballot printing deadline, Goldwater Institute spokesperson Joe Setyon told Axios "the city is depriving its citizens of a meaningful opportunity to comment or seek judicial review on the new language."</div></body>

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Scottsdale sales tax to stay on ballot after city alters description, complying with ruling

The Scottsdale City Council changed the description of a tax measure for the November ballot after a court ruled the original characterization was misleading. Why it matters: What ends up on the ballot \"might be the last or only description the electorate sees before voting on the measure,\" the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in a case over a 2012 ballot description.

The Scottsdale City Council changed the description of a tax measure for the November ballot after a court ruled the original characterization was misleading. Why it matters: What ends up on the ballot "might be the last or only description the electorate sees before voting on the measure," the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in a case over a 2012 ballot description.

Scottsdale sales tax to stay on ballot after city alters description, complying with ruling

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