On Thursday, Arizona governor candidate Kari Lake said she intended to eliminate the state’s income tax, but did not specify how she would do so.
Lake stated on The Mike Broomhead Show on KTAR News she would like to eliminate the income tax if possible. She said she had not made this guarantee since she did not wish to make an unfulfillable commitment.
The former tv news presenter stated she wished for it to be as near to zero as possible so they could compete with other states.
There are nine states where there is no income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Texas, Tennessee, Washington, and Wyoming.
Opposition
Katie Hobbs, Lake’s Democratic rival, assured business executives at an Arizona Chamber of Commerce governor debate last week she will not raise taxes if sworn into office.
She also mentioned such a shift requires a two-thirds vote in Arizona and any significant tax reform would undoubtedly fail in the state legislature. Hobbs promoted Arizona’s business-friendly environment, including its tax system, at the event.
Lake, however, pledged to reduce taxes in each of her four years in office. Her candidacy has stated it would soon unveil a plan outlining how she will do it as governor.
Lake and Hobbs are in a tough contest to determine who will govern Arizona.
Lake’s primary victory over Karrin Taylor Robson, a candidate strongly supported by erstwhile Vice President Mike Pence and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, shocked many political analysts. Lake is a sensational, Trump-backed election denier.
The Republican primary for governor had become a full-scale proxy war. Its results were studied and influenced the Republican Party’s approach to key battles ahead of the general election in November.
Kari Lake reports she has discovered evidence of voter fraud in the last election, but won’t say what it is, and won’t tell the fake news media what it is because they are biased. pic.twitter.com/f3d2KtsIPV
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) September 8, 2022
In addition to focusing on allegations of election fraud, Lake created adversaries in the transgender movement and refused to back down on contentious policy issues, such as abortion and migration.
Hobbs, the secretary of state for Arizona, underlined her support for abortion rights in contrast to Lake’s incendiary statements on the subject.
Cowardice?
Hobbs, meanwhile, has recently received negative press for declining to debate Lake.
Hobbs’ campaign said in a statement that Arizona was mocked for weeks as clips of the Republican primary debate were shared on social media.
The statement went on to say that as a frontrunner and governor, Sec. Hobbs will never do anything that will turn Arizona into the punchline of late-night television jokes and national ridicule. She has an excessive amount of respect for Arizonans.
The @AZCCEC rejected @katiehobbs cowardice proposal. There WILL be a debate, let’s see if my opponent shows up!
Photo unrelated. 😉 pic.twitter.com/FWRsq6aWmE
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) September 8, 2022
Phil Boas, editor-in-chief of the Arizona Republic’s editorial page, labeled Hobbs a “coward” for not debating Lake and suggested the following 52-word restatement of her position:
“I’m a coward, it’s the Republicans’ fault, and anyhow, my fear is all in service to the citizens of Arizona.”
Hobbs and Lake are level, with Hobbs polling at 44% and Lake polling at 43%, according to the most recent FOX10-InsiderAdvantage survey. Approximately 10% of respondents were either uncertain or lacked an opinion.
This article appeared in NewsHouse and has been published here with permission.
