Tax & Licensing
What's New
Tax Rates
| |
The retail tax rate in Mesa is currently 9.05%. This consists of: |
|
| |
1.75% - |
City of Mesa |
|
|
6.6% - |
State of Arizona |
|
| |
0.7% - |
Maricopa County |
|
| |
1.75% - |
Use Tax |
|
| |
5% - |
Transient
Lodging Tax |
|
About Tax & Licensing
The Tax Audit / Collections Office and Licensing Office are
workgroups of the Business Services Department.
These workgroups are responsible for licensing, review, audit and
ensuring compliance regarding
transaction
privilege tax,
use tax, and
transient lodging tax. The Licensing Office also issues and
monitors liquor
licenses,
special
event licenses and all
specialty
licenses such as massage establishments, secondhand stores,
pawnbrokers, scrap metal dealers, auctioneers, peddlers, transient
merchants, transient vendors, sexually oriented businesses and
employees, teen-age dancehalls, fortune tellers and park and swaps.
Effective October 1, 2008, all persons applying for municipal licensing
as Individuals, Sole Proprietors, or Husband & Wife businesses, must
provide evidence of their legal right to be in the United States in
compliance with
A.R.S. 41-1080, also known as the “Legal
Arizona Workers Act.” (for more information refer to
Transaction Privilege (Sales) & Use Tax License application)
IMPORTANT WHEN PURCHASING AN EXISTING BUSINESS:
Pursuant to the Mesa Tax Code, a purchaser of an existing business can
be held liable for past due taxes, interest and penalties owed by the
seller of the business. In order to avoid this
successor liability, the purchaser must request from the seller a
copy of a Certificate of Compliance that the seller has obtained from
the City’s Tax Audit & Collections Department which states that the
seller does not have any amounts due the City. (Refer to
Mesa Tax Code Section 5-10-595 for additional information)