(The Center Square) – A 77.7 percent income tax increase on Arizona's highest wage earners "would wreak economic harm upon Arizonans of all income levels in every industry in the state," a new analysis of the proposal by the Goldwater Institute finds.

https://chamberbusinessnews.com/2020/08/17/tax-watchdog-income-tax-incr…

A ballot initiative to raise income taxes on certain taxpayers and small businesses is “poorly conceived” and “will not create a sustainable source of funding that is worth the economic malady it will cause” according to a new analysis by a tax watchdog group.

(The Center Square) – With the Arizona Supreme Court to give the final say on whether the “InvestinEd” ballot initiative will end up on ballots this November, both sides of the argument are reaching out to make their case.

The ballot initiative, if it passes legal muster and prevails at the ballot, would place an additional tax surcharge on taxpayers who make more than $250,000 and funnel that money directly to school districts.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2020/05/01/arizona-cities…

The government wouldn’t dream of raising taxes during the worst pandemic in a century, right?

Perhaps not the state or feds, with all the attention they receive. But some local governments around the state you’re not paying attention to may be considering just that.

Sean McCarthy from the Arizona Tax Research Association joins the podcast to break down some issues related to Arizona school finance. We talk about the funding formula and school choice, as well as emerging trends like declining district enrollment numbers and the rising cost of the state's retirement system.

Declining birth rates and open enrollment in Arizona will place financial and other pressures on public high schools in coming years, according to a recent report conducted by the Arizona Tax Research Association (ATRA).

As student numbers decline and some schools fail to consolidate and adapt, taxpayers could be the ones footing the bill, said Sean McCarthy, senior research analyst for ATRA, which advocates for taxpayers at the local and state level.

Many advocacy groups will be competing for Arizona lawmakers’ time and a slice of the state budget this year.

Arizona Tax Research Association is included in that list. The Show sat down with the Sean McCarthy, senior research analyst there.

Interview Highlights
What ideally would you most like to see come out of this legislative session?

https://www.azmirror.com/2019/10/16/auditor-general-finds-deficiencies-…

University of Arizona failed to properly oversee a commercial real estate project and allowed millions of dollars to be improperly spent, and there is a general lack of transparency and oversight at university real estate projects overseen across the state by the Arizona Board of Regents, state auditors concluded.

With mounting pension costs in Arizona’s troubled Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS), some local governments are looking to creative accounting and pushing the envelope when it comes to what costs can be excluded under current constitutional spending limits.

https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2019/04/16/sales-tax-fairness/

Tuesday, April 16, 2019
PHOENIX – Arizona small business owners are fighting for sales tax equality with online retailers, similar to 39 other states trying to collect taxes on goods that consumers buy online. But experts said Arizona’s tax system complicates the situation.