By Ben Giles | Arizona Capitol Times
Apparent indifference has halted a legislative committee required by law to analyze the effectiveness of state income tax credits.
The Joint Legislative Income Tax Credit Review Committee, which was created in 2002 and determines if tax credits are effective, need to be changed, or should be repealed, hasn’t met since 2015.
In that time, lawmakers failed to hold hearings on 13 tax credits as required by statute, including three of the four income tax credits available for contributions to School Tuition Organizations, which provide scholarships for students to attend private or parochial schools rather than Arizona public schools.
Those three STO income tax credits alone totaled $149.7 million in credits claimed in 2016, according to state budget analysts.
