Two House Republicans and one Democrat from Arizona wrote to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel asking the agency to reconsider its decision to subject the Arizona Families Tax Rebate Program to federal income taxation.
Representatives David Schweikert, R-Ariz., Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., and Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., sent the letter Wednesday.
“We urge the IRS to reconsider its determination and provide expedited relief to compliant Arizonan taxpayers who have already filed their 2023 tax returns,” the three wrote.
More than 700,000 Arizona taxpayers were eligible to receive a one-time tax rebate as the state continues to recover from historic inflation levels that placed severe financial strain on families across the state, according to the representatives’ news release.
“The country is poorer now than it was three years ago, and Arizonans are no different, facing the brunt of financial pressure with supermarket prices now nearly 25% higher than in January 2020, for example,” the letter says. “State officials acted in good faith with the reasonably available information to provide more than 700,000 households with much-needed relief from price increases on everyday goods and services.”
Tax rebates enacted by 21 states were determined to be tax exempt in guidance issued by the IRS in February 2023, Schweikert, Ciscomani, and Stanton wrote. Though Arizona’s tax rebate wasn’t signed into law for another three months, the IRS extended its decision to make the rebate taxable past the period when the state issued payments, according to the letter.
“In December 2023, the IRS relayed its decision orally through a video meeting, providing no written explanation until February 15, 2024, eighteen days after the start of tax season, and only in response to a letter from the Arizona Attorney General challenging the decision,” the letter says.
Arizona taxpayers are estimated to owe $20.8 million in extra federal taxes due to the IRS’ inconsistent rationale in failing to specify the factual and legal basis for the 21 states’ rebates and payments that were deemed nontaxable in 2022, according to the representatives.
“The inconsistency and delay in communication have resulted in undue financial strain on Arizonans,” the letter says.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
Arizona State Superintendent Tom Horne said Tuesday that his top priority is reversing the teacher shortage in the Grand Canyon State.
Arizona is facing a serious teacher shortage with more teachers leaving than staying, he said.
“We have got to turn around the situation, bring about equilibrium, so we’re not, we’re not losing more teachers than we’re gaining,” Horne said in his speech to the House Education Committee. “We cannot continue doing that.”
Horne said teacher shortages are a “potential catastrophe” that requires immediate attention.
“Currently, we have 60,000 teachers in our classrooms. 8,000 of them are leaving each year,” Horne said. “Our educator preparation programs produce 1,900 per year that actually show up in our classrooms. 2,815 teachers also return to the classrooms. That is a net loss of about 2,300 per year. If that trend were to continue, it would eventually lead to zero teachers.”
His speech also addressed reading proficiency levels. Horne said it’s a “scandal” that some Arizona high schoolers cannot read.
“Kids go to school day after day, every day throughout the year, eight years,” he said, “and they still can’t read.”
Horne outlined sixteen initiatives to increase academic outcomes in public schools. Some of these include growing the number of school improvement teams, leadership training, paperwork reduction, school safety, using data to improve academic outcomes, and teacher development.
“We entered into an agreement with the leaders of the major companies in our state: we will provide the skilled workers,” he said. “In return, the businesses will either teach our career technical education teachers what skills to teach or will provide people to teach those skills.”
Horne said he supports legislative efforts to raise teacher salaries as well as a bill to require more district and charter administrative support for teacher discipline. Those issues were cited in a recent survey of teachers as the top two reasons for leaving the profession, Horne noted.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
The House Committee on Natural Resources held a legislative hearing on March 7 for a bill introduced by Republican Rep. Eli Crane that would transfer federal land currently under the purview of the U.S. Forest Service to Navajo and Apache Counties.
The Pinedale and Alpine communities have struggled to find cemetery space for deceased loved ones for more than a decade, according to Crane’s news release.
“These communities of Pinedale have long and rich pioneer histories, and the residents are proud of that heritage. This bill will allow families to lay their loved ones to rest in the place that their family member loved so much,” Crane said. “This piece of legislation is one of the first bills I introduced in Congress and is a testament to the strength of the Latter-Day Saints Community in Northern Arizona.”
The legislation would expand the land adjacent to Alpine Community Center to prevent the need for deceased members of the community to be buried in a distant cemetery.
“The community of Pinedale has a long and rich pioneer history and the residents are proud of that heritage,” said Daryl Seymore, Navajo County Board of Supervisors, District I. “Pinedale is a community where generations of families live, grow, and raise their families. This bill will allow families to lay their loved ones to rest in the place that their family member loved so much.”
Seymour thanked Crane and his staff for their work on this bill and support of the Pinedale community.
Nelson Davis, Apache County Supervisor for District III, and vice-chairman of the Board of Apache County, said he has seen the “very real needs” of the communities firsthand.
“Recently, the effort put forth by you and your staff in securing the conveyance of USFS land immediately adjacent to the Alpine Community Cemetery is representative of meeting that ‘very real need,’” Davis said in a letter to Crane.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
A bill introduced by Republican Rep. David Schweikert aims to prevent wasted taxpayer dollars on Defense Department audit errors.
The Algorithms Utilized to Detect Institutional Transactions (AUDIT) Act ensures the audit of the Department of Defense’s financial statements is conducted using artificial intelligence to help streamline the internal review process. It also mandates that the technology be developed by both the secretary of defense and Inspector general of the Department of Defense.
“Since 2018, the federal government has spent nearly $1 billion annually trying to audit the Department of Defense, and it costs substantially more to correct the mistakes after its completion,” Schweikert said in a statement. “This legislation helps accelerate the adoption of innovative auditing tools to reduce costs and foster creative solutions that will increase government accountability.
The Pentagon employs 2.9 million people and has over half a million assets worth $3.8 trillion, while its liabilities total $4 trillion, according to Schweikert’s news release. This means personnel must count every single piece of inventory, including military equipment, supplies, and property. In 2019, DOD’s audit totaled $428 million in costs. Correcting the errors after the audit increased the costs by an additional $472 million.
Since it first started auditing itself in 2018, the Defense Department has failed to achieve a clean financial audit each year The 2023 audit required 1,600 auditors and 700 site visits to complete, costing $187 billion and earning a “disclaimer of opinion” rating. This means the department was unable to provide enough financial information to auditors for them to form an opinion.
The bill requires the defense secretary to retire outdated financial management systems that have led to the Pentagon failing six consecutive audits, and directs the secretary to adopt newer technology to facilitate the audit.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues to help modernize how Congress conducts such oversight to protect hardworking taxpayers,” Schweikert said.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
Arizona Sen. Krysten Sinema’s decision not to run for re-election is “a political earthquake [that] has rocked Arizona, the likes of which we haven’t seen in recent history,” according to U.S. Senate Candidate Mark Lamb. Sinema, a former Democrat who switched to Independent, announced her decision on March 5.
“I love Arizona and I am so proud of what we’ve delivered,” Sinema said in a video posted to social media. “Because I choose civility, understanding, listening, working together to get stuff done, I will leave the Senate at the end of this year.”
Lamb said with Senator Sinema out of the race, the focus is now on the Republican Primary.
“My experience and ability to pick up support from conservative Independents and Democrats in the general election separate me from the Republican field,” he said.
Lamb currently serves as Pinal County Sheriff. If he wins the primary, he will take on Democrat Ruben Gallego, who currently serves as the U.S. representative for Arizona’s 3rd congressional district.
“It’s now a two-person race in the general election, between Democrat Ruben Gallego and the eventual Republican nominee,” Lamb said.
“The focus has moved to the Republican primary, where Republicans get their chance to nominate who they think is the most qualified person for the job and who is best able to defeat Gallego and win the general election,” Lamb continued.
The Republican primary is far from over, Lamb argued.
“It’s going to be a spirited contest and it has now taken on renewed interest and sense of urgency,” Lamb said. “Bottom line, Arizonans do not need outsiders selecting our candidates.”
Polls show Lamb as the strongest Republican candidate, he said, pointing to a Noble Predictive Insights Survey showing him beating Gallego by 10 points or more.
Lamb called for a series of debates with the other leading Republican candidate, Kari Lake.
“Voters deserve to hear and see their candidates front and center on the issues,” Lamb said.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
