Goldwater Institute

Arizonans, through their state and local governments, are in debt to the tune of $66.5 billion. That’s over $10,000 for every man, woman, and child in the state. To put that in perspective, the average person’s income in Arizona is less than $36,000 per year.

Pharmaceutical sales are coming under criticism based on what appear to be legitimate but rare abuses of pharmaceutical salespeople promising more from a drug than they should and doctors allowing themselves to be pressured into prescribing. Unfortunately, these isolated incidents are being held up as evidence of the need for vast new government intrusion and regulation of the pharmaceutical industry’s marketing practices. While certainly well intentioned, these efforts are likely to negatively affect doctors and patients.

Education Savings Accounts were signed into law by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer in April 2011. The program opens a new frontier for education reform because parents have more options for their children with these savings accounts than under any other education reform initiative in American history. For the first time, parents can use formula funding from the state to customize their child’s education.

Arizona operates three tax credit scholarship programs. Under these programs, individuals or businesses can donate money to school tuition organizations (STOs). These organizations award private school scholarships to students in grades K-12. Individuals and businesses can take a tax credit equal to their donation within certain limits when they file their taxes.

This year, Arizona policymakers have a chance to do something that no other state with an income tax has done: eliminate the tax on capital gains.