AZ Free Enterprise Club Announces Final Slate of Primary Endorsements

Today the Arizona Free Enterprise Club announced its final slate of candidate endorsements for the 2018 primary election cycle.

 

The endorsed candidates represent individuals who align with the organization’s principles and key policy goals.  Club President Scot Mussi stated, “It is critical Arizona has leaders and policy makers who are able to articulate and stand up for free market principles and pro-growth policies.  This slate of candidates has proven they can and will.”

U.S. Congress

Steve Smith CD 1

Andy Biggs CD 5

Debbie Lesko CD 8

Stephen Ferrara CD 9

State Legislative Races

Nancy Barto, LD 15 House

Sine Kerr, LD 13 Senate

John Allen, LD 15 House

David Livingston LD 22 Senate

Marlene Hinton, LD 25 House

Becky Nutt, LD 14 House

Farhana Shifa LD 18 House

Tony Rivero LD 21 House

Small Business Owner Files Suit Against Major Tax Hike Initiative

An East Valley small business owner has filed suit against the initiative that would give Arizona one of the highest small business tax rates in the United States after the proponents filed enough signatures to qualify for November’s ballot.

The suit challenges the proponent’s deceptive and misleading claims on the impact the initiative would have on Arizona taxpayers and small businesses. Specifically, the backers of the measure omitted the fact that the initiative would eliminate the annual indexing of Arizona’s income tax brackets for inflation, a radical change that will cost Arizona taxpayers millions.

The measure also hid the size of the tax increase from voters. Supporters of the income tax increase claimed that the initiative would increase tax rates by only 4.46 percent, when in fact small businesses would be hit with a tax hike ranging from 76.2% to 98.2%.

“Like most other small businesses, we pay our business taxes as individuals. If our tax liabilities were to double as a result of this initiative, I don’t know how we will be able to survive.” Said Jennifer Henricks, a small family business in the East Valley and parent of three children in Arizona’s public school system. “It’s unfortunate that whoever wrote this initiative decided to mislead the public about the size of the tax increase.”

Henricks is the Treasurer for the “AZ SMALL BUSINESSES AGAINST I-17-2018,” a grassroots committee formed to educate citizens on the harmful impacts the initiative would have on small businesses throughout Arizona.

Also hidden from voters is how the proposed tax income tax increase will hammer small businesses while corporations are left untouched by the tax hike. “It is completely unfair that we will see our tax rates nearly double while Fortune 500 companies will get a special rate under 5%. If the goal was to punish small business owners while rewarding big corporations, this tax increase is the way to do it.” Henricks added.

Support Additional Choice in AZ by Voting YES on 305

For over two decades Arizona has led the nation in expanding popular school choice options for parents and students in our K-12 system. And the results speak for themselves—over 50% of parents in Arizona are opting to send their child to a school that is NOT their designated district public school!

These education decisions are made for countless reasons, but the important point is  they are being made by parents–not lawmakers, district officials or bureaucrats. That is why Prop 305 is a winner for Arizona. This measure offers one more option for parents to consider when choosing a school for their children.

Under Prop 305, students would be able to obtain an Empowerment Scholarship Account that can be used to attend a school of their choice. The program is structured to ensure that funding is not reduced from district schools and can only be used for direct education expenses such as books, tutoring and tuition. Clear oversight exists in the program to guarantee the money is not misspent or used for non-educational purposes.

Prop 305 continues to build on Arizona’s school choice tradition by adding one more option for parents to consider. We encourage everyone to vote YES on 305.

Arizona Free Enterprise Club Releases Additional Endorsements

Today the Arizona Free Enterprise Club announced three new endorsements for candidates running for the Arizona Legislature.

The endorsed candidates represent individuals who align with the organization’s principles and key policy goals.  Club President Scot Mussi stated, “It is critical Arizona has leaders and policy makers who are able to articulate and stand up for free market principles and pro-growth policies.  These candidates have proven they can and will.”

State Legislative Races

J.D. Mesnard, LD 17 Senate

Rick Gray, LD 21 Senate

Gail Griffin, LD 14 House