ARIZONA PUBLIC MEDIA
By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services
Gov. Doug Ducey is defending his promotion of a flat income tax rate as saving the average Arizonan $300 a year even though legislative budget staffers figure that 72% of state residents will see a benefit of less than $45.
And more than half will have a net benefit of no more than $17.
The governor’s comments came Thursday as he was asked whether he was worried that foes of his flat-tax plan have started petition drives to give voters the final say on what he has claimed to be among the top accomplishments of the just-completed legislative session.
Circulators need 118,823 valid signatures on petitions by Sept. 28 to put the Ducey-promoted tax cut on ice until the November 2022 election, at which time voters would get to ratify or nix the change approved by the Republican-controlled legislature.
And the groups gathering the petitions have a track record. They are the same ones who have organized not only the successful drive to put Proposition 208 on the ballot but also a similar referendum two years earlier blocking a decision by lawmakers to expand who is eligible for vouchers of public dollars to send their children to private and parochial schools.
Ducey, for his part, brushed aside any concerns, speaking about the tax cuts as if they already were in effect.
