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PHOENIX (April 27, 2018) – Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry President and CEO Glenn Hamer released the following statement regarding an initiative to raise income taxes:
“The Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry believes strongly that Arizona’s teachers deserve a raise. That’s why our organization and several others across the broader business community are urging the Legislature to swiftly adopt a budget that would raise teacher pay 20 percent by 2020.
“The 20×2020 plan proposed by Gov. Ducey is possible because of robust economic activity, which has resulted from policies that have dramatically enhanced Arizona’s competitiveness. The state has added over 160,000 jobs since 2015, and we’re projected to add another 150,000 jobs over a two-year period. When our economy grows, teachers win.
“It is never a good time to raise income taxes on small businesses and their employees; that would just create a drag on the state’s overall economy. The tax brackets that would be targeted under this initiative historically have the most volatile collections, with wild dips in economic downturns, which would put teacher pay at terrible risk.
“Should this measure to dramatically hike income taxes secure a spot on the ballot, we will oppose it strongly, and we will urge Arizona voters to do the same.”
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