Corporations in Arizona may soon pay no state taxes at all because the Senate cannot agree on a cap.
Instead of paying taxes, the corporations can subsidize private and religious schools. This means the state will have less money for its underfundedpublic schools, which enroll nearly 90% of the state’s children.
“On a party-line vote, the Arizona Senate gave preliminary approval Wednesday to changes in laws that give corporations a dollar-for-dollar credit against their state taxes for money they give to “scholarship tuition organizations.” These STOs, in turn, provide funds parents can use to pay the tuition and fees for their children at private schools.
“But Senate Bill 1467 was missing the promise made earlier by Senate President Steve Yarbrough, R-Chandler, to eliminate a provision in the law that, if not capped, could eventually mean corporations would pay nothing into the state treasury.“Under the original STO law, the diversion of corporate taxes was limited to $10 million.
“But proponents, led by Yarbrough, put in an automatic escalator, allowing that cap to rise by 20 percent a year. This past year the diversions totaled $74 million.
“The law will allow corporations to divert more than “$89 million this year, $107 million next year and $128 million the year after that.
“There is no limit. And at that rate, corporations could owe the state nothing by 2027.”
Until last year, the president of the State Senate, Republican Steve Yarbrough ran one of the organizations funneling tax dollars to nonpublic schools. Yarbrough was both president of the State Senate and leader of the Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization. Tuition organizations get to keep 10% of the tax money to pay for administrative services. His organization collected millions each year, and he was making about $150,000 a year to run the fund while writing laws to expand its funding. A sweet deal. For him. Not for public schools.
The Arizona Republic described the program in 2015:
”It was pitched as a small tax-credit program to help poor and disabled students attend private school.
“Eighteen years later, $140 million is now being diverted from the state treasury, most of it to pay private-school tuition for non-poor, non-disabled students.
“It was pitched as a program that would expand school choice. But fewer students are attending private school now than when the tax-credit program began, yet more and more money is being siphoned from the state to pay the private school tuition tab.
“This, Senate Majority Leader. Steve Yarbrough calls a triumph.”
Yarbrough stepped down from his private sector job in December 2017.
The Arizona formula: More money for private and religious schools, less money for public schools.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
It comes down to public school families. They have to start demanding that politicians pay attention to public schools.
The federal government and state governments will continue to treat public school families as if we don’t exist until we throw them out and hire some people who support the schools 90% of people attend.
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They also need to punish politicians that fail to hear them by voting them out. We need voters at the polls!
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“A stalemate between Republicans and Democrats means that Arizona corporations will be able to divert an ever-increasing share of their state income tax to help students attend private and parochial schools.
On a party-line vote, the Arizona Senate gave preliminary approval Wednesday to changes in laws that give corporations a dollar-for-dollar credit against their state taxes for money they give to “scholarship tuition organizations.” These STOs, in turn, provide funds parents can use to pay the tuition and fees for their children at private schools.”
Just curious- how much time have these politicians spent the last year on the PUBLIC schools 90% of their constituents attend?
What value did they return to PUBLIC schools?
It’s ridiculous that we have an entire governmental class who spend the vast majority of their time promoting private schools while public schools are completely ignored.
That’s ludicrous. They should be fired. Surely we can find some representatives who are interested in PUBLIC education. It isn’t any of these people, that’s for sure.
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Chiara,
Good QUESTION: “What value did they return to PUBLIC schools?”
You know the answer: NO VALUE at ALL whatsoever.
We know this is a GAME to TAKE OVER our Public Schools and make them into “warehouse learning factories” for businesses.
I have heard this over and over again: “Schools, including universities/colleges should train workers for those rich corporations.”
Problem is that CHANGE is inevitable and corporations need to train their own employees. Good GRIEF.
I was on a panel and a person in the audience actually said that universities need to train students for HIS BUSINESS. HUH? I told him, “Now that is ridiculous. What about the other students who don’t want to work in your business?” This is why we have students declare their “major” when attending universities/colleges. Your job is to interview potential employees for your business, and do your homework before you hire someone.”
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The Koch brothers are pulling many of the strings in Arizona pouring millions in dark money in order to gain control of policy.https://www.abc15.com/news/state/koch-brothers-are-promoting-school-vouchers-in-arizona
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As I have written here, the Koch brothers are terrified of the referendum that AZ parents put on the ballot.
They are currently funding Spanish language TV ads to try to persuade Hispanic parents to vote for vouchers.
Every voucher referendum to date has failed to pass. That’s why the Kochs are scared.
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“Yarbrough’s the guy behind most of the bills to expand Arizona’s tax credits for private-school tuition. He’s also the executive director of one of the state’s largest- school-tuition organizations – non-profits that collect tax-credit donations then dole them out as private-school tuition scholarships.”
Yarbrough has public schools in his district. Public school families should demand he do some work on their behalf, instead of lining his own pockets working 24/7 on voucher schemes.
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The Arizona proposal is another form of corporate welfare. When subsidies are given to companies, the tax revenue loss is made up by the people, or government services have to be cut. Budgets are already being stretched to the max in most states, and it is a recipe for disaster. Billionaires do not want to pay for the education of other people’s children so they come up with schemes like this one. Nobody ever asks the public if they are tired of underwriting corporate greed. We are on the hook for corporate welfare without any chance for democratic input. http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/08/corporate-welfare-costs/
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Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education.
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Posted at https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Arizona-No-Cap-on-Corpora-in-General_News-Corporate-Accountability_Corporate-Corruption-Crime_Corporate-Greed_Diane-Ravitch-180305-424.html#comment692031 (you will love the image I used for the introduction.
Two comments have links back to the Ravitch site.
comment one: “The latest report of the Education Law Center http://www.schoolfundingfairness.org
demonstrates the unfairness of funding in many states. When funding is unfair, equal educational opportunity is sacrificed. Somehow, this crucial topic never makes it onto the agenda of corporate education reformers. They want to cut costs, not assure that funding is both adequate and equitable.”
“The nation’s continuing failure to sufficiently invest in public schools stands in stark contrast to a growing body of research demonstrating that increased funding leads to better outcomes for students. Studies show that school finance reforms that increase spending in low-income districts result in improved student achievement in those districts and a narrowing of achievement gaps. In fact, these benefits have been shown to last into adulthood in the form of greater educational attainment, higher earnings, and lower rates of adult poverty.”
COMMENT 2
and there is this in Indiana, as america’s SCHOOLS (I.E PUBLIC EDUCATION) is utterly destroyed and privatized, like they did to our health care.
Diane Ravitch points out: “Indiana was once renowned for its public schools, which were beloved community institutions. Then rightwing republicans took control of the state, and the result was disruption, chaos, and community division. Instead of working together to improve their public schools, the public was enticed to pursue private choices, all under the false promise of “reform.”
Carol Burris went to Indiana, visited schools, met educators, and has written a three-part series about the corporate attack on public education in the Hoosier State. At the center of destruction are two men: Mitch Daniels, the former governor who is now president of Purdue (a soft landing he engineered), and Mike Pence, the pious evangelical who is now Vice-President.
Here is part 1 of Carol’s gripping story of the attack on public education in Indiana.: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/12/21/a-telling-story-of-school-reform-in-mike-pences-home-state-indiana/?utm_term=.11b64b9e135c
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Another example of the greed of the 1%. My hope is young people will stand strong!
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“Republican Steve Yarbrough ran one of the organizations funneling tax dollars to nonpublic schools.”
Conflict of interest must have no meaning to Yarbrough, eh!
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