Arizona Center for Economic Progress: $2 Billion Tax Cuts for the Rich are Irresponsible
ITEP Work in ActionLast year, the legislature passed huge tax cuts whose benefits will only be seen by the richest Arizonans. Once these new tax cuts go into effect, they will reduce state revenues by an estimated $2 billion a year. The state approved a flat tax that will not result in a meaningful tax cut for most Arizonans – households making $64,000 per year will get an average $47 per year tax cut.
Combined with the increasing costs, this will make it almost impossible to adequately invest in public education or provide the resources many Arizonans count on. Investments voters have repeatedly said they prioritize. The Arizona Supreme Court recently denied Arizona voters the right to have the final say on whether those tax cuts should go into effect by striking down a referendum on the issue. Enacting these and other tax cuts at this time is fiscally irresponsible as the state’s current revenue surplus is likely inflated and deceptive, and giving away such a significant portion of state revenue in the form of tax cuts to the rich will likely result in cuts to education and other important resources when the next recession comes.