For the last several weeks we've been warning you about the dangerous tax bills that the Legislature has now passed and Governor Ducey has signed into law. But this is not the end of the story. The Arizona Constitution gives concerned citizens a way to fight back against harmful legislation.

Pima County Interfaith is holding a Civic Academy at 10:00am Saturday, July 17, on the Invest in Arizona Referendums on the three most egregious tax bills. We'll be explaining the devastating impact of the new 2.5% Flat Tax on the state budget, and the 4.5% cap on total income taxes paid, as well as the entirely new filing category that is exempt from the Prop 208 surcharge. We'll also explain the referendum process and how you can join us in collecting signatures to put a hold on this legislation until the people can vote on it next year. More information below.

REGISTER NOW

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYucemhqzIuH9MbDDUd90GIG9wmXyctJjQw

You can review the Guidelines for Circulators at any time.

While most of us were sleeping last night, the Arizona Senate passed Budget Reconciliation Bills on party lines to set the budget, cut taxes for all but the wealthiest to 2.5% by 2024, and prohibit teaching certain things about race, sex, and ethnicity. These bills also

• place a cap of 4.5% on how much the wealthiest pay in taxes; in effect, this totally undercuts Prop 208, which requires the wealthiest to pay a 3.5% surcharge on their adjusted income over $250,000 (single) or $500,000 (married) plus their regular taxes on their income. They will now pay the surcharge, but only 1% of what their regular taxes would have been.
• resurrect an expanded ESA voucher bill, which had been defeated earlier this year.
• limit the powers of the Secretary of State to conduct elections, also modifies election rules for audits and registering to vote.

Estimates are that nearly half of the money expected to be raised through Prop 208 will be cut through the cap on the highest earners taxes. $1.3 billion will be cut from the General Fund in the first year, which will grow to a$1.9 billion cut.

Arizona cannot afford these tax cuts or the other changes passed by one party in the Senate. This legislation will set Arizona back for decades. We have enough experience with “trickle down” economics over the past several decades to know that it doesn’t work. We don’t need Arizona to prove this once again.

The House will be voting on these bills tomorrow, Thursday, June 24; the legislation they pass has to be exactly as the Senate passed it. This gives us an opportunity to stop this process. We know that two Republican House members, Reps. Michelle Udall, R-Mesa,([email protected]) and Joel John, R-Buckeye ([email protected]), both teachers, opposed the expanded vouchers earlier in this session. We need to contact them to encourage them to stand fast. We must also contact our own representatives and others who opposed the flat tax.

Pima County Interfaith is strongly opposed to the flat tax that has been proposed by Governor Ducey because it will significantly decrease the revenue sharing with cities and towns that pays for important services like police and fire emergency responses, after school programs, sewers and transportation. As part of the Arizona Interfaith Network, we encourage you to sign the petition to oppose the flat tax. 

Prop 208 is under serious threat from SB1783, a bill that would drastically revamp the
Arizona tax code.  Make no mistake, these are tax loopholes for the very wealthy.
The bill will immediately reduce the funds raised by Prop 208 by about 1/3.
SB1783 has passed the Senate, and must be stopped in the House. It was passed by
the House Ways &; Means Committee on Wed. morning.

The bill is part of a concerted effort this legislative session to create massive new tax
cuts, taking advantage of an unexpected surplus, rather than directing funds to the
needs of Arizonans during this pandemic.

WHAT DOES SB1783 DO?:

SB1783 is intended to undo the will of the voters. It allows the very wealthiest taxpayers
to remove income from traditional income categories, and it creates new categories to
evade Proposition 208. (For details see the JLBC Fiscal note and the Bill Summary.) New categories
created by SB1783 include:

“Arizona Small Business Income” category is created with a single tax bracket of
of 4.5% (a flat tax ). Married couples earning business profits in excess of
$568,417 will benefit from this flat tax which shields their taxable income from
the Prop 208 surcharge.

Estates and Trusts will no longer be subject to the individual tax rate. Instead
new tax brackets are created for income from estates and trusts. The tax
brackets are the same as taxes on individuals, but earnings in the highest tax
bracket will be exempt from the Prop 208 surcharge.

ACTION:

1. Call or Email your House members and tell them to stop creating
tax loopholes that undermine public schools and Arizona school
children. Find your Representatives at www.azleg.gov/findmylegislator/.

2. Also call Rep. Michelle Udall (LD25, 602-926-4856) and Rep. Joel John
(LD4, 602-926-3276) who are important possible no votes.

Thank you for responding to this urgent call. The House will be the the last chance to
stop this unravelling of the work of so many public school supporters.

--The PCI Strategy Team

The urgency is clear: even with limited testing in Arizona, as of Saturday, March 28,  the number of cases has risen from 27 to 773 in ten days. There have been 15 deaths in Arizona.

Join VIP Clergy and Leaders urging Governor Ducey to take life-saving action:

URGENT: TELL CONGRESS TO PASS AN ECONOMIC STIMULUS PLAN THAT PROTECTS WORKERS, FAMILIES, AND SMALL BUSINESSES - NOT ANOTHER CORPORATE BAILOUT!

Update 3/24/20: Keep contacting Congress.  The Senate deadlock continues and no vote has been taken.  

As of Monday morning, March 23, the US Senate is deadlocked on a nearly $2 Trillion dollars stimulus plan to address the COVID-19 public health and economic crisis. Organizations affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation throughout the country, like Valley Interfaith Project, are are calling on Congress THIS MORNING to do the right thing.

ACT NOW:

1. Call (and email/tweet/tag) Senators Martha McSally and Kyrsten Sinema and your Congressional Representative THIS MORNING. Urge them to pass a fiscal stimulus bill that adheres to the Core Principles outlined below (and linked here). The bill is being negotiated for a vote today or tomorrow.

2. Sign on to support these principles so that we can continue building on this effort as the crisis unfolds.

3.  Share this urgent call with others by posting on social media, etc.

Here is a sample message.  Feel free to personalize it and/or refer to the full set of principals in the document that follows.

Dear Senator________ or Congressperson_______:

Valley Interfaith Project and the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) urge Congress to pass an economic stimulus plan that protects those who urgently need help the most: American workers, families, and small businesses on the front lines of this national emergency.  The federal government must act swiftly and decisively.  We must take all necessary steps to avoid the loss of income, housing, safety, and crumbling communities.  Those most at risk should be the direct and primary beneficiaries of federal intervention, not multinational corporations.

1.     Help American Workers and Families Now;

2.     Save Jobs and Protect Service Sector Workers;

3.     Drastically Expand Health Care Coverage for the Most Vulnerable;

4.     Invest Heavily in Health Care Infrastructure to Support Front Line Workers and Providers;

5.     Protect Our Communities;

6.     Avoid the Mistakes of the 2008 Financial Sector Bailouts.

The IAF represents 65 Broad-Based citizens’ organizations throughout the US, working with thousands of religious congregations, small businesses, education institutions, non-profits, civic organizations and unions to make change for families and communities.

Thank You.

This document includes the full set of principles.  For a pdf copy, click here.