The No on Proposition 208 campaign released its second television ad today, and it includes the perspective of a respected voice from the education community.
The ad features Jaime Molera, the former Arizona state superintendent for public instruction and who was twice the president of the state Board of Education.
In the ad, Molera says Proposition 208, which would raise the top income tax rate paid by individuals and small businesses by 77.7%, is the wrong plan for Arizona.
“We need to support our public schools,” Molera says in the ad. “But Prop. 208 is the wrong plan. Vote no.”
The ad points out that Arizona small businesses would pay a higher income tax rate than big corporations. Arizona’s top corporate income tax rate is 4.9%, while Proposition 208 would take the top individual income tax rate from the current 4.5% to 8%. Many small businesses are organized as pass-through entities and pay their taxes on the individual income tax code.
“As the architect of Proposition 301, the public education funding measure that passed with bipartisan support 20 years ago, I know what it takes to craft policy that brings the education and small business communities together to do the right thing for our schools and our economy,” Molera said. “Proposition 208 would do tremendous damage to Arizona’s economic competitiveness and it would fall far short of delivering for our schools. I believe strongly that Arizona voters should reject this risky tax scheme. Arizona can do better.”
The ad will run on broadcast, cable and digital platforms. The No On Proposition 208’s first ad can be viewed here.