Why doesn't Arizona abolish their income taxes? (Tucson: sales, home)

[AsgardDevice]

With so many great companies in California, Arizona could position itself to poach a ton of them.

Right now they basically have to look at Texas or getting handouts from other states. In many cases I'm sure Arizona would be more enticing for them if the taxes were the same. Right now companies are losing over half their white collar employees when they move from California to Texas which is very problematic if you depend on talent. Arizona is more California-like in vibe and also closer, so it would be able to retain more of its employees with a move to PHX or Tucson.

In addition to this, Arizona spends money and effort not only keeping track of and processing income taxes, but it spends a lot of energy giving certain companies special tax breaks and even give-aways. You could completely do away with that and just treat everyone equally. So, why not add some property taxes and maybe an extra cent sales tax and get rid of corporate and personal income taxes?

[corydon]

Why not take the workers weekly pay and use that????
Imagine all CA companies moving to AZ.... They have to tax them, roads just do not grow out of nothing...
And I bet for every person leaving CA and whining about it, there are 1000 happy folks.
Replace AZ with WY... would you move?

[AsgardDevice]

Originally Posted by corydon

Why not take the workers weekly pay and use that????

Use that for what?

Imagine all CA companies moving to AZ.... They have to tax them, roads just do not grow out of nothing...

This is the only part of your response that makes any sense. I will address it by pointing out that tax revenues would still be the same as a percentage of income. People in Texas pay taxes. Just not income taxes. They get you in other ways. The more high paying jobs you have the more sales and property taxes you are collecting. Currently Arizona gives select companies an exemption from paying just about all forms of tax. I'm not sure how picking winners and losers like that is better than what I am proposing.

You could just abolish the corporate income taxes and leave the personal income taxes, but that would get terrible publicity because most people will see it as being corporate slaves or something like that.

And I bet for every person leaving CA and whining about it, there are 1000 happy folks.

Companies are lucky if they keep half their workforce when they move their offices from California to Texas. A lot of people simply refuse to move to Texas, especially if its not Austin.

Replace AZ with WY... would you move?

I'm not sure what this means. I personally have no interest in moving to WY and it's 100% due to the weather.

[corydon]

You don't like it when companies pay taxes, but wouldn't it be fair if they pay at least their fair share? They make money when their goods move over the roads..... Why should Joe 6 pack pay all the bills like police, fireman and so on? It makes no sense, plus most companies have more than enough money, it is just never enough for the share holders.

[AsgardDevice]

Originally Posted by corydon

You don't like it when companies pay taxes, but wouldn't it be fair if they pay at least their fair share? They make money when their goods move over the roads..... Why should Joe 6 pack pay all the bills like police, fireman and so on? It makes no sense, plus most companies have more than enough money, it is just never enough for the share holders.

Well, I guess that's why you don't have a ton of white collar jobs moving your way. Congratulations. Meanwhile, places like Plano, TX are way nicer and the people there are making way more money.

[corydon]

Don't blame me for things people do.....
I drive through Houston often, doesn't look very inviting to me.....

[CodyW]

Originally Posted by AsgardDevice

With so many great companies in California, Arizona could position itself to poach a ton of them.

Right now they basically have to look at Texas or getting handouts from other states. In many cases I'm sure Arizona would be more enticing for them if the taxes were the same. Right now companies are losing over half their white collar employees when they move from California to Texas which is very problematic if you depend on talent. Arizona is more California-like in vibe and also closer, so it would be able to retain more of its employees with a move to PHX or Tucson.

In addition to this, Arizona spends money and effort not only keeping track of and processing income taxes, but it spends a lot of energy giving certain companies special tax breaks and even give-aways. You could completely do away with that and just treat everyone equally. So, why not add some property taxes and maybe an extra cent sales tax and get rid of corporate and personal income taxes?

Unfortunately, our state is in the middle of yet another budget crisis - so eliminating a source of income is probably not a smart idea right now.

That said, if companies wanted to move here - they would. It has less to do with taxes (Arizona is already relatively tax friendly, compared to a lot of places) and more to do with available work force. Arizona just doesn't have the education attainment that places like Seattle and Silicon Valley do. Intel has already expressed their concerns finding workers and have said that, in hindsight, they would not have opened up here.

All things considered though - People don't usually move here because the job industry is fantastic. Wages are low here. They move here because it's cheap and safe - 'nuff said.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by CodyW

That said, if companies wanted to move here - they would. It has less to do with taxes (Arizona is already relatively tax friendly, compared to a lot of places) and more to do with available work force. Arizona just doesn't have the education attainment that places like Seattle and Silicon Valley do. Intel has already expressed their concerns finding workers and have said that, in hindsight, they would not have opened up here.

All things considered though - People don't usually move here because the job industry is fantastic. Wages are low here. They move here because it's cheap and safe - 'nuff said.

I agree with you. There are not enough skilled workers in most of Arizona to support a lot of new industry.

If a company is looking for "cheap labor", they certainly would rather go to Sonora or Baja California Norte than relocate in Arizona.

[Potential_Landlord]

Originally Posted by AsgardDevice

Well, I guess that's why you don't have a ton of white collar jobs moving your way. Congratulations. Meanwhile, places like Plano, TX are way nicer and the people there are making way more money.

Are you serious? Since Texas cannot extract the oil tax on us in Arizona and other states any more their economy is imploding: Texas Manufacturing Activity Stalls and Outlook Worsens
https://dallasfed.org/microsites/res...tmos/index.cfm

[Valley Native]

Arizona needs to abolish the income tax in order to attract more thriving business. Look at Texas and Washington: two states that don't have income taxes, and are home to some of the most reputable Fortune 500/Fortune 1,000 firms in the nation. Nevada doesn't have an income tax either ... and while Nevada isn't home to many corporations, it doesn't need an income tax because the gambling revenues easily pay for most of their services.

If I'm not mistaken, phasing out the income tax is one of the goals of Governor Ducey, and I hope he is successful at doing so. I don't see any reason to have an income tax when sales taxes and private contributions could easily make up for the cost of the services we take for granted. I would like to see Arizona be the home of more Fortune 500 & Fortune 1,000 companies (like Texas & Washington), as well as legalize prostitution & gambling (like Nevada). That way, the amount of taxes the average person pays would be reduced significantly.