Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Source for Arizona Government, Politics and Business

The Arizona Foster Care Tax Credit reduces your state income tax obligation $1 for every dollar you give to Aid to Adoption of Special Kids (AASK) or other qualifying Arizona foster care organizations. That means when you give AASK $100 now, you will get that $100 back in the form of a lower state income tax bill. The tax credit limits are $500 for individuals and $1,000 for a couple filing a joint return.

In a recent commentary in the Arizona Capitol Times, representatives of the Arizona Dental Association and the Arizona Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons questioned a proposal to expand the availability of dental providers by licensing highly trained dental therapists. The commentary’s writers called the use of dental therapists an “experiment” — an odd way to describe a profession that has existed in more than 50 countries for nearly 100 years.

I have always supported Tom Forese, even if I have not always agreed with him. As a state lawmaker Tom Forese was a champion of free markets, where he advocated for deregulation that enabled ride-sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft to compete in our economy. I was disappointed, however, to see Mr. Forese stray from conservative principles during his time at the Arizona Corporation Commission.

Our federal tax code is long overdue for a complete overhaul – it has saddled businesses with some of the world’s highest tax rates, deprived families of their earnings, and served as an obstacle to the growth of the national economy.

Arizona has an historic public health opportunity to use 93 acres of state-owned, deed-restricted land in the heart of Phoenix to create a 21st century psychiatric center of excellence. As always, the devil is in the details.

State action may threaten about 40,000 jobs in Arizona’s energy industry, but those jobs aren’t ones that immediately come to mind. Instead, the 40,000 jobs – more than coal, wind, solar, oil and gas combined – are in energy efficiency.

As allegations of sexual harassment continue to flood into society, let’s be clear that sexual harassment is not the problem but the symptom. The problem is patriarchy in which women are defined as less than men; in which the disease – power imbalance – is what causes the symptoms i.e. domestic violence, rape, sexual harassment, infanticide, femicide, prostitution, etc.

Upon closer examination, it is evident that the proffered benefits of the tax plan are based on extremely rosy projections of double-barreled economic growth, accruing from massive tax breaks to major corporations and the upper one percent.

As tax reform becomes a major focus in Washington, Congress faces a unique opportunity to fix a situation that has long favored multinational corporations at the expense of U.S. companies. Doing so could level the playing field for American companies while also delivering an extra $1 trillion in tax revenue over the next decade.

How does the Affordable Care Act affect me and my community? Well, that is a big question with a big answer. ACA is big, it is more than the marketplace and mandates – which, by the way, is still the law. It is a whole system of care and infrastructure and problem solving intended to make us healthier as a nation.