One would think that lower income taxes would promote economic growth, but history tells a different story. Historically, economies have done worse when income taxes are lower. When President Bill Clinton raised taxes in the early 1990's, conservatives predicted disaster. Instead, the United States" economy boomed and we saw the fastest growth in incomes since the 1950's. The following president George Bush came into office and cut taxes, which led to the worst downturn since the great depression. Although we are only voting on income tax cuts in the State of Arizona, I believe we have learned what can happen when taxes are cut. .
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Arizona relies heavily on personal income tax. Next to sales tax, income tax is the second highest revenue source in the State of Arizona. Personal Income Tax makes up 35% of the state's general revenue fund. Personal income tax is a progressive tax, so the more income means the higher the taxes paid and vice-versa. The belief behind this system is that people who make more money should pay more in taxes. That perspective will be eliminated and sales tax will be further regressive. Since the sales tax will stay the same, the wealthy will have a bigger portion of their income back, but still pay the same percentage in sales tax as someone who has a lower income. .
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Getting rid of income tax in Arizona will have a heavy burden on the programs that receive funds from the general revenue fund. These programs include education (K-12), corrections, universities, and health services. Many of these programs rely on the general revenue fund and they will be losing a large portion of their money. One-third of the budget will be affected by this cut and it is uncertain where the state will get money to make up for this debt. You can look at several programs that rely on the general revenue fund, but lets look at corrections. With less money comes cuts in policing; therefore, there will be fewer officers patrolling the streets, which could lead to more crime or less crime being solved.
