Arizona Tax Research Association | The Taxpayer's Watchdog Since 1940

Pima grapples with budget limit law

Pima Community College won a narrow victory earlier this year when a bill in the state legislature that would have cost the college an additional $30 million in spending failed.

The vote came less than a year after the state eliminated $7.1 million in funding to the college.

Ducey tells tax group that 2015 cuts 1st step to yearly cuts

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/nov/20/arizona-tax-group-to-he…
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Gov. Doug Ducey said Friday that a law he signed earlier this year indexing income tax rates for inflation was an important first step to his goal of cutting incomes taxes every year he’s in office.

Ducey wants state to reduce income taxes

SCOTTSDALE — With the state potentially sitting on $1 billion, Gov. Doug Ducey put down his marker Friday to use some of that to cut income taxes.

In a speech to the Arizona Tax Research Association, Ducey boasted of signing legislation earlier this year that indexed the state’s income tax brackets. The net effect was to ensure that someone whose salary increased no faster than inflation was not bumped into a higher tax bracket.

But he said he’s not done.

Arizona school funding plan would raise taxes for some

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/education/2015/11/…

Republican legislative leaders and Gov. Doug Ducey are touting the education funding plan as a way to put more money into classrooms without raising taxes.

The $3.5 billion plan would tap the State Land Trust, the endowment given to Arizona at statehood to help pay for education, which proponents have cited as a key tax-free resource.

Arizona legislators unlikely to boost state spending

Arizona's finances appear to be in solid shape headed into the new year. But Republican state lawmakers say that's no reason to start spending more money.

At the annual Arizona Tax Research Association conference last week, Joint Legislative Budget Committee Director Richard Stavneak said Gov. Doug Ducey and the Legislature can expect to kick off the legislative session and budget process in January about $555 million in the black. He estimated $218 million of that could be used for ongoing new expenditures without putting the state into a financial hole.

Q&A: Why Arizona education funding will always lag

http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2015/10/30/arizona-educati…

Q&A: Why Arizona education funding will always lag

The Arizona Tax Research Association set out to answer why Arizona consistently ranks worst among states on spending on K-12 education. In a nutshell, what’s the answer?

2015 AZ Republic: Fire officials want tax hike

Slowly rebounding home values and tax caps are squeezing fire districts statewide, officials say. And without higher taxes, they warn that emergency-response times will rise, putting at risk more than 1.5 million Arizonans.

Fire district chiefs have begun a Save our Fire Districts campaign to convince state lawmakers and Gov. Doug Ducey to loosen the tax limits. On Thursday, they pleaded their case to a joint legislative study committee.