The state has made the collection of tax on long-term housing illegal with a new law that takes effect in January of 2025.

The idea that communities would tax housing is absurd and it is a tax that has long needed to be abolished. The elimination of the tax will have an impact on Fountain Hills’ bottom line but instead of wringing our hands, we should be looking at ways to get ahead of surrounding communities.

If we remove the tax early, we can attract more people to our community looking to save money on their rentals. The tax will be banned anyway in 2025. Why not get a head start and ban the tax early and aggressively work to attract more people to our community?

The truth is increasing our population will have a far greater impact on our economy and our community’s tax revenue than the funds we receive from the tax on long-term rentals. Eliminating this tax early will give our community an edge in competing with other communities for new residents, new businesses and new opportunities.

Eliminating the tax early would be a bold move but it would show our commitment to investing in people and growing our economy. We have an opportunity to display real leadership. The question is – will we take it, or will we be like every other community and squeeze every last dollar we can out of this arcane tax while we are legally able to do so and leave our community completely unprepared for life after the regressive rental tax?

The rental tax is going away in 2025. We would be wise to eliminate the tax early and make our community a destination for new residents and new jobs and opportunities. The time to prepare for the future is now.