About NO on 208
This is the WRONG plan at the WRONG time. If 208 passes, it would be the largest tax increase in Arizona history. 50% of those impacted by this massive tax increase will be small businesses while they struggle the most.
Get the facts for yourself.
Vote NO on Prop 208.
No accountability for the spending – funds can be spent outside the classroom, and there is no guarantee how much will go to teachers
50% of those filers impacted by this massive tax increase are small businesses
Small businesses will pay nearly double what big corporations pay for income tax (8% vs. 4.9%)
Raises the top marginal income tax rate from 4.5% to 8% for individuals who earn over $250,000 or households earning more than $500,000 - that’s a 77.7% increase
No Promises for Schools
There is no cap on how much of this will go to state government agencies for “overhead” in the initiative language. There is not a guaranteed amount for schools or for teachers other than half of what’s left after government agencies take what they want, and even that half has loopholes. Of the dollars collected, the auditor general must first allocate funding to at least four state agencies for admin costs. This amount is not capped, nor defined. It is a slush fund for bureaucrats. Once these dollars have been transferred to state agencies, the remainder is distributed in the form of “grants” without the requirement that all teachers share in the revenue.
Where Does The Money Go?
Some teachers will get some of this money, but which ones? And the promised pay raises do not have to be sustained over time. Grants are fluctuating amounts of money. This is not a permanent pay raise revenue source. Nor is it required to be. The revenue may not even raise what is needed for a 10% pay raise. Which is why proponents of the measure cannot tell you how much will go for teacher pay. The proponents say it is half of the total. It is NOT half of the total amount raised. It is half of what’s left after state government takes what it wants off the top.
The proponents say money will go to mentoring new teachers. There is no requirement to go to mentoring. It can be but is not guaranteed. Administrators can decide to not use it for mentoring. The proponents say money will go to “career and technical education” but then lists all of the other things it could be used for instead. Most education dollars are weighted for special education students to ensure their teachers, who usually have advanced and specialized training and are qualified for higher salaries, can earn that higher amount. That is not the case here.
No Accountability
It is unclear if the dollars will have to be accounted for at the school level and if parents will know how much of the share is making it to their school. The small amounts of money identified by the campaign for “mentoring” or “career education” are really only suggestions, those dollars can go for really anything the administrators want without a lot of oversight. Even the dollars supposedly identified to fund more college students to become teachers is designed in such a way that it could actually reduce the number of new teachers receiving financial support versus support.
Light On Classroom Support
The initiative is heavy on administration and light on in class support. There are no guarantees that new teachers will be hired or get raises. The income tax is highly volatile and will not net what the proponents claim, meaning there will be no guarantee from year to year. The money is not distributed to schools and teachers taking into account student needs such as Special Education. Like many campaigns before this one supporting education funding, this tax increase is not dedicated “to the classroom.” Adminstrators could play favorites giving some employees more money while ignoring others. And those dollars could be one-time bonuses. Not pay raises. We’re not voting for a tax increase for pay raises for teachers. We’re voting for a tax increase that could disappear into local budgets and never be seen again.
No cap on administrative spending
Largest tax increase in Arizona history
If passed Arizona would be in the top 10 highest income tax states in the country, right up there with Vermont, New York and California