For years Democrats have complained that virtually every government program in Arizona is underfunded because of all the “draconian” tax cuts that have occurred. Given that most national rankings show Arizona is middle of the pack among states when it comes to overall tax burden on individuals and businesses, it is difficult to see how they reach this conclusion.
Nevertheless, there has been a lot of discussion in political circles and in the media about Democrats winning majorities in the State House and Senate, meaning they might have a chance to implement their tax hike agenda.
Just how much do Democrats plan to increase taxes if they win control of the State Legislature?
The Answer: $5.73 BILLION DOLLARS!
This three-year budget total includes a wide range of tax increases that have been actively supported by Democrat leadership and their caucus. Through votes taken at the legislature, bills introduced by the caucus and tax increases proposed in their own budget plan, the entire Democrat tax hike agenda has been put on display for the public to see. And it would mean billions in new taxes that would cripple the state’s economy and send businesses and families fleeing to other states. Tax Increases the Dems would LOVE to implement include:
VLT Registration Fee
Last year Democrats unanimously voted against ending the VLT registration fee, a widely despised fee that has generated fury among the vehicle owning public. If it were up to the Democrats, the fee would still be in place, and likely would be increased since the amount of the fee wasn’t capped (the Arizona Department of Transportation director had sole authority to annually set the amount of the fee). Taxpayers are lucky Democrats didn’t get their way on this one.
Online Sales Tax
Last year Republicans approved a plan to allow for the taxing of remote online sellers, with the intention of providing an offset to prevent a net tax increase. Democrats fiercely opposed the plan, speaking out against the proposal and made the bizarre argument that somehow providing offsets was a “tax cut.” They even presented an alternative budget proposal that included keeping all of the money from the tax increase, which totals at least $900 million dollars over three years.
Conformity Income Tax Increase
Similar to taxing online sales, Democrats were fierce in their opposition to any plan that didn’t include the government keeping the $300 Million in annual revenue generated from the Conformity Tax hike. They introduced their own conformity legislation and proposed in their own budget plan keeping the money generated from the tax increase. Even the media, which is normally sympathetic toward government keeping more of our money, didn’t bite on the Democrat spin and consistently reported this as a significant tax increase.
Income Tax Hikes on Individuals, Businesses and Entrepreneurs
The Democrats don’t want to stop with just one income tax increase. In addition to the conformity income tax hike, they also are pushing a massive tax increase similar to Invest in Ed from 2018 to double the individual income tax rate to 9 percent ($2.82 Billion), eliminating inflationary adjustments on deductions ($9 Million), increasing taxes on corporate businesses by imposing a moratorium on all tax credits ($390 Million) and raising taxes on capital gains ($12.2 Million).
Arizona Can’t Afford the Dems Radical Tax Agenda
This is a mind blowing portfolio of record breaking tax hikes, and it doesn’t even include Democrat leadership’s support for increasing the gas tax, increasing the insurance premium tax and imposing a minimum tax on every corporation regardless of size or if they are even profitable.
Democrats will attempt to run away from this record, hoping voters won’t take a closer look at their plan to enact California-level tax rates that will turn Arizona permanently blue. Republicans shouldn’t let them—taxpayers need to know about the radical left turn Democrats have in store for the state if they are in charge.
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