Arizona May Join Flat Tax Club

There are more than 25 countries with flat tax system. Several states also have flat tax regimes, including Massachusetts, Colorado, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Arizona may soon join that club. That's the good news. The bad news is that the politicians also want to raise other taxes:

A flat income tax plan that is part of budget plans being crafted by the Arizona Legislature and Gov. Jan Brewer would take Arizona’s five personal income tax brackets down to one rate of between 2.6 percent and 3 percent and substantially cut corporate income tax rates. ...The state’s personal income tax rates range from 2.59 percent to 4.54 percent, depending on income. A flat personal income tax would take those to 3 percent or likely lower, said Tom Jenney, state director of Americans for Prosperity. ...Jenney like the idea of a flat tax but points out the budget deal would have come into play in later years, likely 2012, while Brewer wants voters to approve a 1-point increase to the state’s 5.6 percent sales tax. “That sounds like a bad deal,” said Jenney comparing the sales tax increase to the flat tax plan. ...“A flat tax would be a boon for the state’s economy,” said Steve Voeller, president of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club. “A single rate of no higher than 3 percent would make Arizona’s tax system one of the most competitive in the U.S.,” said Voeller.