Republicans and Democrats in the Arizona Legislature are at a stalemate when it comes to corporations that divert a share of their state income tax to help students attend private and parochial schools.
The Senate gave preliminary approval Wednesday to a bill that would give corporations a dollar-for-dollar credit against their state taxes for money given to scholarship tuition organizations (STO), which help parents pay their kids’ tuition at private schools.
Republican Sen. President Steve Yarbrough had offered to include language that would phase down how much corporations can give because, at some point, they would pay nothing to the state.
He also proposes to up the amount of other tax credits available for these scholarships.
Democrats refused to go along.
"It was something to try to appear at least that there was something being given to the pro school choice side for giving up something enormous," Yarborugh said.
Yarbrough, until late last year, ran an STO.
One Democratic opponent called Yarbrough’s bill a “Trojan horse."