(Photo by Alexandra Olgin - KJZZ)

Downtown Phoenix.

The demolition of an historical building in Phoenix has led to increased scrutiny of the Government Property Lease Excise Tax (GPLET).

GPLET basically replaces a property tax with an excise tax for property owners. Phoenix officials say there are 12 active GPLET projects downtown. The issue has come to the forefront in the controversy over the Circles building in downtown Phoenix. Bob Graham is a principal architect with Motley Design Group in Phoenix. He spoke about how it plays into happened with the Circles building.

David Krietor is president and CEO of Downtown Phoenix, Inc. He doesn’t think the issue of GPLET is a dramatic problem.