As a quick glance through the Digest's Arizona archives reveals, the Arizona budget debates over the past year have been an utter disaster. Against this backdrop, the efforts of a group of Arizona hospitals to get a high-incomes tax increase onto the ballot are truly a sight for sore eyes.
The Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association is preparing to file the paperwork needed to get a 1 percentage point increase in the state's top income tax rate onto the November ballot. The increase would affect only a small group of fortunate Arizonans — those earning more than $150,000 per individual, or $300,000 per married couple. The Association would like to see the additional revenue directed toward improving health care in the state. This is crucial for a state that recently repealed its Children's Health Insurance Program.