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Mar 28, 2011

Editorial slams 'blatantly unfair' GOP flat tax

PHOENIX -- Do you make less than $100,000 a year? If so, Arizona Republicans want you to pay more taxes.

Their proposed "flat tax," which passed the state House and is making its way through the Senate, would mean higher tax bills for the 88 percent of Arizonans whose income falls below that threshold. Those who make more than $100,000 annually, however, would keep more of their money than ever.

An editorial in today's Arizona Republic called this tax proposal "blatantly unfair" and "irresponsible." Some excerpts:

The average tax bill for those who make $10,000 to $20,000 would be nearly five times higher: $303, compared with $67 today.

Those who earn $1 million to $5 million, however, would pay barely half as much: an average of $32,965, down from $60,372.

...

The skewed impact is blatantly unfair.

...

Some lawmakers who voted for the bill may have been attracted by the notion of a flat tax, without realizing how hard it would hit average Arizonans. The session is winding up, there's a lot going on, but that is, to put it bluntly, irresponsible.

Read the entire editorial here.