Dem leaders call for end to corporate tax cuts

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Arizona Democrats called on the Legislature to end corporate tax cuts as a way to increase state revenues and instead invest the money in education and social services.

Democratic leaders from the Arizona House of Representatives and Senate said the Republican-controlled legislature got itself into its current financial state, with underfunded education and safety net programs, by enacting various tax cuts over the course of many years. The ideas were expressed at a press conference this morning ahead of the governor’s State of the State address.

In particular, Sen. Katie Hobbs, D-Phoenix, called on the Legislature to cap school tuition organizations’ tax credit expansion and instead put money into teacher recruitment and retention. She also said the Legislature should require all tax credits to be verified as creating a return on investments, and the Legislature should establish a sunset review process to look at all tax cuts to make sure they’re fiscally sound.

“We can easily achieve these goals, and we can do them this year. All that we and the people of Arizona need is a Legislature willing to serve the greater good and not the special interests,” Hobbs said.

State Democrats also want to see Proposition 301, a 2000 voter-approved sales tax increase of six-tenths of one cent that funds education, renewed before it expires and increased to a full one-cent to go toward finding teachers and funding schools.

Read more at AZ Capitol TImes

Corrie O'Connor