Hollace Lyon
JoAnna Mendoza, executive director for the Arizona Center for Economic Progress, was the guest speaker at the SaddleBrooke Democratic Club (SBDC) August meeting. The Center is a leader in advancing policies that create fairer tax codes, which raise the revenue needed to invest in education, affordable housing, health care, infrastructure, and more.
Mendoza briefed the club that for 2024, total state spending is projected at almost $65 billion. According to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, 48% of that comes from sales/use tax with another 33% from taxing individual income.
Most Arizona corporations pay the minimum $50 annual income tax; thus, only 10% of the state’s revenue comes from corporate income taxes. Mendoza provided examples of how to make the tax code work better for everyone and discussed how the Arizona budget is developed.
September is Reproductive Rights Month for the SBDC. To kick off that effort, Amy Fitch, candidate for the AZ Senate in LD 17, will be the guest speaker on Sept. 12. As a rape victim who was essentially denied her right to an abortion, Fitch has dedicated decades to preventing others from going through what she suffered.
SBDC is proud to stand up for freedom, working hard to help deliver freedom to all Arizonans, including collecting signatures for the Arizona for Abortion Access (AAA) initiative coming out toward the end of September. The initiative is aimed at enshrining those rights in the Arizona Constitution by putting it on the ballot in 2024. If you’d like to help circulate them or want to sign one, email [email protected].
The SaddleBrooke Democratic Club meetings are on the second Tuesday of each month at 3:30 p.m. in the SaddleBrooke One Activities Center. Go to www.saddlebrookedemocrats.org for more information.