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Kolodin: COVID-19 pandemic is unparalleled opportunity to bring business, entrepreneurs to Arizona

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In business, I have succeeded by taking calculated risks. That is why it disturbs me to see even some conservatives suggest that taxes should be raised in response to COVID-19: the classic formula for a death-spiral.

Instead, as a candidate for state Senate, my economic proposal calls for doubling down on the conservative principles we know work because our rivals like California, New York, and Illinois will certainly use this crisis as an excuse to double down on the liberal tax-and-spend policies that have already made them failed states.

As these states collapse, we have an unprecedented opportunity to bring their most successful businesses and entrepreneurs, and the jobs they create, to Arizona, raising our economy to new heights. The state Legislature should act quickly to maximize this opportunity.

The first decisive move our state Senate should make is to help Governor Ducey fulfill his long-time pledge to eliminate the state income tax by putting a bill on his desk to do just that. As Texas has shown, the lack of an income tax provides a major advantage for attracting major corporate headquarters. Eliminating the income tax will also provide major assistance to Arizona’s small businesses at a critical time since most small businesses are taxed at the individual rate.

The state Senate should also act swiftly to curtail the power of rogue regulators who act as if their job is to harass Arizona businesses and find new ways to tax them. Unbelievably, the Arizona Corporation Commission regulates companies seeking to raise money so they can grow and hire Arizonans much more strictly than even the federal government.

Meanwhile, our Department of Revenue has a disturbing habit of making up brand new taxes on new technologies. Arizona is already one of the best places in the country to do business and putting these regulators in their place will make us both the natural landing pad for tech companies and entrepreneurs fleeing California and other liberal states and a place where our homegrown entrepreneurs can grow and thrive.

Like many Arizonans, I remember 2008 all too well. Back then I was a young teacher. Budget cuts had slashed already low salaries to the bone but I was thrilled to have any work – plenty of my friends had none. I remember what it felt like to watch the state I love suffer and wonder if things would ever get better. Our duty to the next generation of Arizonans is to make sure that doesn’t happen again on our watch.

Today, we have a decision to make: We can let inertia and fear guide us and accept stagnation and decline, or we can let our values guide us to bold action and secure Arizona’s place as the greatest American success story of the 21st century. The choice is ours.

Editor’s note: Mr. Kolodin is a Republican candidate in pursuit of a state senate position representing Legislative District 23