With a state budget surplus, Arizonans ought to get a tax cut
In a new op-ed, State Director Stephen Shadegg explains how Arizona lawmakers have an opportunity to reduce the tax burden on Arizona families and create more jobs and opportunity.
Arizona is experiencing a surge in tax revenue and projecting a budget surplus of nearly $4 billion for fiscal 2022.
That makes this the perfect time for the governor and legislature to come together on a tax reform plan that reduces the burden on families, makes the state more competitive, and matches revenue to spending priorities, writes Stephen Shadegg, state director of Americans for Prosperity-Arizona:
With so many focused on trying to recover stronger, lowering the personal income tax rate can lessen the tax burden for all Arizonans and provide real, long-term relief that our families desperately need and deserve in these challenging times.
Lawmakers have proposed taking Arizona’s five personal income tax brackets, ranging from 2.59 percent to 8 percent, to two — 2.5 percent for most taxpayers, and 4.5 percent for the highest earners.
That would mean a tax cut for every Arizona taxpayer, including small businesses that could create more jobs and opportunity.
“A flatter and simpler tax system would help unleash growth and remove barriers to opportunity so each of us can improve our lives,” Shadegg writes.
When the state is handed unexpected revenue surpluses, lawmakers should not instantly start looking for ways to spend it. Instead, they should prioritize spending and return the excess to the people who provided it in the first place.
Read more about Arizona’s proposed tax reforms at PinalCentral.com.
