ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — Oro Valley has enacted its first-ever “use tax” on certain out-of-state business purchases, but it took two votes over five months to get there after a filing error at the state level erased the council’s original decision.
The Town Council voted 4-3 on June 17 to approve the 2.5% tax, matching the outcome of an earlier vote in January. That first approval was voided after the Arizona Department of Revenue failed to update the town’s tax code with the state within the required window, according to Oro Valley Chief Financial Officer Dave Gephart, who presented the item to council both times.
Mayor Joe Winfield, along with council members Dr. Harry “Mo” Greene II, Joyce Jones-Ivey and Elizabeth Robb, voted in favor. Vice Mayor Melanie Barrett and council members Mary Murphy and Josh Nicolson voted against it, the same lineup as the January vote…