Proposition 130 and property tax exemptions: What Arizona voters need to know

Arizona veterans with disabilities have not been eligible for property tax exemptions for more than three decades.

A proposal on November's ballot could change that.

Property tax exemptions reduce the assessed value of a person’s real estate, thereby decreasing the property taxes they have to pay. The amount of savings depends on several factors, such as where the person lives, their annual income and how much their property is worth.

Proposition 130 would allow property tax exemptions for veterans with disabilities, people with total and permanent disabilities, widows and widowers, regardless of when they became Arizona residents, though only one exemption would be allowed per person.

What's on the ballot: Arizona voters will decide these ballot measures in 2022

The state Constitution already includes exemptions for each of these groups. But in 1989, the Arizona Court of Appeals held that the veteran exemption was unconstitutional because it only applied to veterans who were Arizona residents before entering the armed services. Veterans with disabilities have not been able to receive property tax exemptions since.

There are more than 110,000 veterans with partial disabilities in Arizona, according to the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services.

“(D)isabled veterans are coming to our counties asking for relief that is written down in the Arizona Constitution, and we have to turn them away today,” wrote Michael McCord and Sarah Benatar, president and first vice president of the Arizona Association of Counties, in a statement supporting the proposition. “But if we vote yes on Proposition 130, we can fix that technicality and restore property tax relief to those who have sacrificed so much for our country.”

Property tax exemptions are intended to help low-income people, Maricopa County Assessor Eddie Cook said. There are limits on how much income a person can have and how much their property can be worth to qualify for an exemption.

The exemption would apply to veterans whose disabilities are service or non-service related.

“I think most Americans would say that veterans have sacrificed their personal lives for the freedom of our country, and I think Americans would say that we want to honor their service to their country,” Cook said.

In addition to restoring the property tax exemption for disabled veterans, Proposition 130 would protect the exemption for widows, widowers and people with total and permanent disabilities from being challenged in court in the future. 

It would also give the Legislature the power to determine the amount of the property tax exemptions as needed, rather than having the amounts codified in the constitution, which would require a referendum to change.

The Secretary of State’s Office received no arguments against the proposition.

Juliette Rihl covers housing insecurity and homelessness for The Arizona Republic.

Coverage of housing insecurity on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Arizona Community Foundation.