Arizona business leaders want big tax increase for teacher salaries, education

Some of Arizona's most influential business leaders have a plan to significantly boost education funding, and they're not waiting for Gov. Doug Ducey and the Legislature to make it happen.

This week, they began a public campaign to convince fellow business leaders to raise the funds to put an expansion of Proposition 301 on the ballot — and sooner rather than later, although they haven't disclosed exactly when they'd like to see it on the ballot.

They're pushing to nearly triple the current 0.6 cent education sales tax to 1.5 cents, permanently. That's significantly higher than has been discussed by other groups so far, and would mean an additional $900 million a year for teachers and schools.

The additional revenue would go toward areas Ducey prioritized this year — teacher salaries, full-day kindergarten, school infrastructure, teacher training and workforce development.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona-education/2017/06/10/arizona-business-leaders-want-big-tax-increase-teacher-salaries-education/378886001/