AZ House of Representatives - in support of equal tax treatment for leased and owned solar installations

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22 April 2014
Dear Representatives,

 I am an Arizona native, resident of Tempe, proud of our state sustaining its smart energy leadership on the national stage, and concerned about the broad implications of haphazardly altering a few words in very wisely crafted A.R.S.

 Sec. 12. of SB1301, regarding A.R.S. Section 42-11054 C-2 and C-3(c), is a poorly veiled attempt to eliminate 3rd-party solar installation leases from Arizona's renewable energy development. These leases (like car leases, mortgages and all other financing vehicles) have been the market-driven solution for the average Arizonan to be able to afford rooftop solar.

 Be aware: this proposed replacement of the term "on-site consumption" with "self-consumption" not only segregates rooftop solar customers by their choice in financing (read: income level), it sets a deleterious precedent of adjusting property values based on the property's (easily changed) owner, rather than any innate qualities of the property itself, or its market.

 Please realize that this proposed one-off alteration of property valuations at the request of a special interest group is in fact a far-reaching issue that would hurt low- and middle-income households, non-profits and public schools more than any other bill discussed in recent decades. I'm extremely surprised that this bill got so far.

 Please vote down SB1301, and retain Arizonan's ability to choose their method of financing.

 Thank you,

 Jamie Michael Kern
Location: Arizona House of Representatives, 1700 West Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85007, USA

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