by admin | Jan 14, 2021 | News and Updates, Tax
They said it wouldn’t happen. They said that Proposition 208 wouldn’t affect the Arizona economy or small businesses. But here we are, just two weeks into the new year, and small businesses are already seeing the effects of a disastrous income tax increase.
How could this be?
After all, Andrea Nemecek, the state director for #INVESTinED, declared that Proposition 208 would NOT tax small businesses. Not that it was unlikely. Not that it may not. She stated that Prop 208 would NOT tax small businesses.
This proclamation was included in her ballot argument submitted on behalf of the YES campaign to the Arizona 2020 General Election Publicity Pamphlet. And it was the very first argument that appeared in the voter guide. Just look at Question 4 on page 137.
4. How much does this tax small businesses?
Answer: Zero. $0.00. Nothing. This initiative ONLY applies to personal income, not business income. This is worth repeating: There are no business-tax increases. This surcharge only applies to personal income.
But Ms. Nemecek wasn’t alone. Every major funder, advocate, and organization behind Prop 208 pushed this same deceitful narrative. Take David Lujan, for example. Mr. Lujan is the director of the Arizona Center for Economic Progress, a co-author of Prop 208. Back in September, he told the Phoenix New Times, “The argument that our opponents make is that this is going to tax small business owners. And that’s completely false.”
This talking point was repeated far and wide, including by #INVESTinED, who tweeted the same exact quote.
So, if this were true. If it is “false” that small business is taxed under Prop 208, then Ms. Nemecek, Mr. Lujan, and the out-of-state special interests that bankrolled this massive tax hike should explain why small businesses are already leaving the state due to Prop 208.
Just look at Landmark Recovery, a business headquartered in Scottsdale. Its owner, Matthew Boyle, told ABC15 last month that his business is packing up and heading to Nashville, Tennessee. Why are they leaving? Because Prop 208 will crush his small business.
Another local favorite, My Sister’s Closet, has filed a lawsuit against Prop 208 because of the damage it will cause her small business.
More businesses are sure to follow. And who can blame them?
It’s bad enough that many of these businesses are still trying to recover from the effects of COVID-19. Now, they’re being hammered by a tax they were told didn’t affect them.
So, who stands to be most affected by Prop 208? The people of Arizona.
A report from the Goldwater Institute estimates a minimum of 124,000 jobs lost within 10 years of Prop 208 going into effect along with $2.4 billion lost in state and local tax revenue.
But #INVESTinED got what they wanted. Prop 208 passed. And now the people of Arizona are stuck dealing with the fall out of a campaign that was less about education and more about deception.
You Can Make a Difference
If we don’t act soon, Arizona will soon look like other high tax states in rapid decline. Find out what you can do to undo the damage being caused by Proposition 208.
by admin | Jan 11, 2021 | Elections, News and Updates, Regulatory
Lea Márquez Peterson was elected to the Arizona Corporation Commission this past November, running as a Republican. But it didn’t take long before she threw the 1.4 million people who voted for her completely under the bus.
Earlier this week, in a surprise move, Márquez Peterson voted for herself to serve as chair of the five-member commission. And who do you think voted with her to ensure she won the top seat? Democrats Sandra Kennedy and Anna Tovar.
In this position, Márquez Peterson will set meeting agendas, run meetings, and set the overall tone of the commission. But normally, the role of chair goes to the person who has served the longest, which in this case would have been Conservative Republican Justin Olson.
But not this year.
Apparently, Márquez Peterson made a New Year’s resolution to gain more power and control. But at what cost? And what kind of deal did Márquez Peterson make with the Democrats to gain such a position?
A “Green New Deal” perhaps?
The role of the Arizona Corporation Commission is to set rates and policies for utilities. And right now, the commission is in the process of developing a “clean energy” plan that looks to ban fossil fuels by 2050. In essence, they are trying to pass the Green New Deal right here in Arizona. And who do you think has served as a key swing vote to drive such measures? Lea Márquez Peterson.
A Green New Deal in Arizona would mean less reliability, higher rates, and millions of corporate welfare dollars going to special interest groups. But that’s not all…
You can also expect to see more California-style blackouts just like this past summer. Do you remember those?
In August 2020, California’s electricity grid was under an immense strain. And because of that, the state instituted its first intentional rolling blackouts since 2001. And the state’s residents were also asked to conserve electricity during a significant heatwave this past summer.
Now, imagine that possibility when it’s 110 degrees in Phoenix. And imagine being forced to pay more money out of your pocket for it.
If “Green New Deal” Lea gets her way, that’s where we’re headed.
But perhaps she doesn’t care that she betrayed every Republican that voted for her this past November. Perhaps she’s ok with it, so she can have more power, control, and whatever else the Democrats have promised her.
Lea Márquez Peterson sold out. And now the people of Arizona live under threat of the Green New Deal passing.
Somewhere, Bernie Sanders and AOC must be smiling.
by admin | Dec 21, 2020 | Misc, News and Updates
The narrative around education funding in Arizona has been dominated by the K-12 establishment, teachers’ unions, and their cheerleaders in the mainstream media. For years they have told the public, despite billions in new education funding pouring in the past several years, that schools remain woefully underfunded. Sadly, this has resulted in a bidding war with the K-12 lobby on how much more to spend, regardless of educational results or accountability.
That prevailing narrative has now hit a brick wall. The Arizona education lobby and their out-of-state special interest friends cashed in all their chips for Proposition 208 – the largest tax increase in Arizona history. They were able to convince a bare majority of voters to pass it. And now they have a real problem.
Proponents promised that Prop 208 would restore our state to “pre-recession” funding levels, the watermark they use to define the ever-nebulous “fully funded” concept. The architects of Prop 208 claimed that its passage would pump a $1Billion into the K-12 system. Based upon what they promised Arizona voters, our schools are now fully funded.
Despite opponents of the measure sounding the alarm on the devastating effects Prop 208 would have on our economy, advocates assured voters it did not impact small businesses and would not drive high-income earners and job creators out of the state.
But that is exactly what it is doing. Inevitably, Proposition 208 will not generate the revenues they promised voters, leaving proponents in an awkward position. They asked voters to pass this to “fully fund” education, knowing full well it would not generate the revenues they “projected” and they would be back asking for more money. Some people call that a bait and switch.
This crisis in credibility is sure to be at odds with lawmakers this legislative session when the education community predictably demands more money, being unsatisfied with gobbling up 52 percent of the entirety of the state’s budget. However, they have a second glaring problem divorced from the soon to be public revelation that they lied throughout the entirety of the Prop 208 campaign.
There is an exodus of students from the district schools and no one knows if these students are ever returning. Since the pandemic, public schools have seen a 5 percent decline, while enrollment in Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, which allows parents to use their tax dollars to homeschool or choose an alternative learning solution for their children, has exploded.
Understandably, the school districts have always enjoyed natural sympathies from parents who support their children’s schools and teachers. But that implicit trust has been cracking under COVID as teachers’ unions threatened to strike if schools reopened in the Fall, school boards vacillated between distance and in-person learning, and schools opened daycares but not classrooms. Parents were left with no other alternative but to seek out better options for their kids.
Since funding levels are tied to student enrollment, the education lobby will have to explain why they should receive more money when fewer families are choosing their product, especially when they have already secured their big bucket of money from Prop 208.
The passage of Prop 208 and the fracturing of the trust between the public schools and families have changed the framework of the debate around education in our state. For the 2021 legislative session, that means the conversation will not center around how many unaccountable dollars can be poured into the K-12 system. Rather – it is likely the session will be dominated by two prevailing policies – backpack funding and expanding school choice. And this is very good news for the kids of Arizona and for taxpayers.
by admin | Dec 4, 2020 | Elections, News and Updates
Fresh off the heels of a ten-hour public forum in which several Arizona lawmakers and President Trump’s legal team—led by attorney Rudy Giuliani—discussed potential irregularities and fraud with the Presidential election results, State leadership is facing extreme pressure to hold a formal legislative hearing and overturn the certification of the 2020 elections in Arizona.
There are several key takeaways lawmakers and patriots alike should consider from the events that have transpired as we chart a path to move forward.
- Confidence in our Election System is Precarious
The fact is approximately half of the American population has lost faith in our election system. This is a democratic crisis that left unattended will irreparably damage our republic.
Regardless of the scope or degree election fraud played in the outcome of the 2020 Presidential election, only a comprehensive review and debate on a state-by-state basis will uncover these facts and, more importantly, mend the broken fidelity between millions of voters and the promise of free and fair elections.
Calls for action by leaders such as Congressman Andy Biggs to conduct a full audit are appropriate and dire. As the states most under scrutiny – Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona—move forward on the certification process, they owe it to the public to investigate every aspect of how the elections were executed and make these proceedings and findings available for public consumption. Full transparency is critical.
2. Election Fraud is Real
Election fraud occurs. It has been well documented. Whether that takes the form of holding raffles and giving away gift cards in exchange for votes in Nevada, ballot harvesting in North Carolina, or a Judge caught taking bribes to stuff the ballot box in Philadelphia, election fraud exists and is a real problem.
Yet despite decades of evidence, it has been irritating to watch the media, which trafficked absurd Russian collusion conspiracy theories, election “hacking” claims by the Clintons and lionized Stacey Abrams, now harrumphing anyone that raises concerns about voter fraud. Legacy media should be the last people questioning the credibility of election fraud concerns when they have zero credibility themselves.
So as the process moves forward, the Club believes the Trump campaign has a right to and should exhaust all legal remedies to investigate and review the results of the 2020 election.
3. Election Integrity Reforms are Needed
In the last few years, Arizona has taken some steps to reduce the more nefarious methods of voter fraud. A ban on ballot harvesting (which Democrats at the time claim didn’t exist), reducing the abuse of “emergency” voting centers and enhanced voter ID laws have improved the process.
However, Arizona still has work to do, and additional reforms must be prioritized by the legislature. Areas of reform include additional transparency and oversight on vote tabulation, Permanent Early Voter List (PEVL) fixes and enhanced scrubbing of our voter rolls to remove non-eligible voters from our lists.
Election integrity continues to be a priority for the Club and we support legislative efforts that improve the credibility, transparency and security of our elections. This year’s session will no doubt be ripe for many of these reforms that have failed to pass in recent years.
4. Conservatives Must Continue to Fight
Arizona has some work to do to improve our elections systems. However, concerns over election fraud cannot be used as an excuse to not engage politically or ignore that Democrats have made gains in the state. The thinning Republican majorities at the legislature have not been garnered through vote rigging. Irrespective of the 2020 election outcome, our focus must be on building our movement and growing our numbers so that we can win outside the margin of cheating.
And above all else, we MUST continue to fight. Right now, Donald Trump’s campaign team is in Georgia to help Kelly Loeffler and David Purdue win their races and retain the Senate Majority. In fact, Donald Trump himself is planning a visit to the state this weekend, despite concerns over voter fraud. If Trump is not throwing in the towel, then neither should conservatives.
by admin | Nov 11, 2020 | Elections, News and Updates, Tax
While public attention has been on the highly charged speculations of the Presidential race, voters in 17 states throughout the country were asked to vote on a variety of tax measures at the ballot box.
The results of these measures were fascinating to say the least, especially the results in typically blue states that are generally favorable to higher taxes.
Despite Biden’s incessant promise to undo Trump’s tax cuts, voters in the country’s most liberal states rebuffed proposals to increase taxes across the board.
It is a well-known fact that these traditionally high-tax states have driven droves of citizens and businesses to lower-tax states such as Arizona, Texas and Utah in the past decade. Except for measures to increase taxes on marijuana, tobacco, and other drugs, ironically, Arizona is the only state this election to pass the same economically ruinous policies blue states are now trying to undo.
Illinois voted on a measure to eliminate their Constitutional flat income tax system and institute a progressive, soak the rich system, which failed by a wide margin of 10 points. Opposition to this change was realistically much higher than even 55 percent because in Illinois a Constitutional amendment can be ratified with a simple majority and voters who leave the question blank count as an affirmative for the measure!
California too, asked voters to increase taxes in the form of removing a cap on property taxes for commercial owners. Like Arizona’s Prop 208, California’s Proposition 15 would have constituted the largest tax increase in California’s history. Surprisingly, the measure has failed, leaving intact one of the shelters for California’s businesses.
Despite an oppositional education lobby and the proponents being outspent almost 2:1, Colorado’s voters passed a REDUCTION in their income tax by a margin of 15 PERCENT! Colorado’s flat tax system protects taxpayers from class warfare at the ballot box.
Even in Washington state that does not have an income tax – cutting taxes is popular. The legislature repealed four separate onerous taxes on businesses including a plastic bag tax. These changes were on voters’ ballots as “advisory votes” which allow the electorate to affirm or oppose tax changes made by the legislature – all were supported by the majority of voters. One of these measures was a repeal of a tax targeted at the aerospace industry which has threatened to send Boeing out of the evergreen state. Alaskan voters too saw the wisdom of not killing the golden goose, where voters could have passed a measure to raise a $1Billion by sticking it to the oil industry, but the proposal failed by an almost 30 percent spread.
These results are astounding. State and local economies have been pounded by the COVID19 shutdowns and there is almost universal acceptance that lower taxes on individuals and businesses will encourage growth and recovery. The failure of the left’s tax policies is apparent to even the die-hard leftists in the bluest states in the country. Their uncompetitive tax systems have driven away businesses and job-creators and hamstrung economic growth and they are now changing course.
After a decade of climbing out of the Great Recession, Arizona has rebuilt its economy by controlling spending, adopting competitive tax policies, and limiting regulatory burdens on businesses. That has led to thousands of new jobs, a more diversified economy and prosperity in the state which has allowed for over a $1Billion of new sustainable monies to flood the education system.
Proposition 208 undoes all this progress. Despite our state’s success story and liberal states trying to adopt our playbook, it looks like Arizona will have to learn the hard way.
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