Car-rental companies oppose Cubs stadium charge
PHOENIX -- Arizona lawmakers are searching for a way to build a new spring-training stadium for the Chicago Cubs without dipping into depleted state coffers or raising taxes.
Instead, they're turning to travelers like Jim Skomski, a San Diego-based engineer for a car manufacturer who spends a week every month in Phoenix.
Lawmakers are looking at adding a $1 surcharge to auto rentals in the Phoenix area, which already has some of the highest car-rental taxes in the country.
"No more," Skomski says while waiting for a shuttle after dropping off his rental car. "Don't tax me any more. There's taxes on everything."
The proposal also has car-rental companies crying foul.
"It's taxation without representation," said Bob Barton, president of the American Car Rental Association.
It's unfair to ask visitors from out of town to pay for a facility most will never use, especially when the fee is approved by lawmakers they can't even vote for, Barton said.
But supporters of the fee say it's minimal -- just $1 per rental, not per day -- and is hardly a burden on rental-car bills that often reach into the hundreds of dollars.
Spring-training baseball is a significant economic driver in Arizona, and the Cubs are the highest-drawing team.
The Cubs have trained in Arizona for more than 50 years. But their lease on the aging HoHoKam Park in Mesa is nearing expiration, and officials in Naples, Fla., have tried to woo the team.
Cubs officials agreed last month to stay in Mesa provided the city and state can come up with $84 million for a new stadium, clubhouse and practice fields.
The proposed rental-car fee is part of a bill that would raise nearly $60 million for the state's share of the facility. Mesa would cover the rest if voters approve a new sales tax, property tax or other source.
A state House committee approved the measure 6-2 on Wednesday, giving their nod to the rental-car surcharge along with an eight-percent charge on spring-training tickets.
Among the top 50 destinations in the United States, Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix already has the third-highest car-rental taxes, according to an August 2009 report by the National Business Travel Association.
"The issue we have is where local governments start taxing travelers to fund projects that aren't related at all to the business travel experience," said Shane Downey, director of public policy for the business travel group.
On top of 15.3 percent standard sales taxes, visitors who rent a car at Sky Harbor pay a 3.25 percent surcharge for some existing spring-training facilities and the stadium used by the Arizona Cardinals football team.
There's also an airport concession recovery fee of up to 11.1 percent, a $6 per day charge to pay for the airport's consolidated rental car center, and a $6.02 per rental operations, energy and maintenance fee.
An $84 one-day rental of a Pontiac G6 includes more than $41 in taxes and fees, according to a search on travel reservation site travelocity.com.
Arizona voters approved charging visitors to pay for local stadiums when they approved a ballot measure in 2000.
House Majority Leader Rep. John McComish, a Phoenix Republican who is sponsoring the Cubs legislation, said the fee hasn't increased in 10 years, and the voters' approval shows Arizona residents support taxing rental cars.
"It's not a new concept," he said. "That's a precedent that's been established."