In an unexpected decision, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the ballot measure’s wording was misleading to voters.
In a surprise ruling in Arizona, a proposed income tax hike to restore education funding has been knocked off the November ballot. Had the measure gone before voters and passed, it would have nearly doubled the state’s income tax rates on the wealthy and made Arizona the first red state to pass a millionaire’s tax.
Instead, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled this week that the wording in the petition to get the measure on the ballot was misleading because it termed the tax increase as a 3.4 percent and 4.4 percent hike. A more accurate portrayal would have been to say the tax rate would be raised by those amounts in percentage points. “When you go from 4.5 percent to 9 percent, that’s a 98 percent increase,” says Garrick Taylor of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce. “Had that been disclosed to voters, I’m not so sure it would have [as much] support.”
Backers of the measure, which largely includes teachers and administrators, called the decision an “utter outrage.” In a statement issued hours after the ruling, the Invest in Education Committee, which collected signatures for the measure, characterized it as a politically motivated move to protect the elite. “Any politician who has been part of this effort to stifle the will of the voters will be held accountable and pay the consequences in November,” said committee co-chair, Joshua Buckley. “Our school children deserve better and our fight will continue.”
GOVERNING.COM
BY LIZ FARMER | AUGUST 31, 2018