Pingerelli: Arizona Families Tax Rebate benefits taxpaying parents with dependents

The Arizona Families Tax Rebate, driven by the Arizona Freedom Caucus, will benefit taxpaying parents with dependents.

Every extra dollar a taxpayer gets to keep in her pocket helps, particularly in an inflationary economy, like the one that Arizona and our entire nation has been subjected to for years now. That’s why, when confronted with a budget surplus, it was reflexive for the Arizona Freedom Caucus to fight for putting some of that surplus back into the hands of the taxpayers who earned it, rather than accumulate it in the state coffers or spend it on line items that are vastly less needful than the everyday essentials that families rely on, like food, fuel and energy.

The fact is, this rebate means more to some than just a little extra spending cash for the families who will receive it. Rather, those taxpayers with dependents under the age of 17, will receive $250 per dependent, and those with dependents age 17 or older, will receive $100 per dependent, up to three dependents, for a maximum rebate of $750. For an average family, then, this rebate could reasonably cover both groceries and fuel for an entire month. As a mom of two children, I know that accounting for these expenses in the household budget is no insignificant matter for most working families. For some, this rebate will serve to free up funds to spend on necessities that have been taking a back seat in this Biden economy.

I am happy that so many hardworking Arizona families will be receiving this relief at this critical time, and I was excited to be able to support it with some of my allocation and also my yes vote. I am also thrilled that the budget fully protects Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, which not only translates to a huge financial benefit to our families, but more importantly, gives them the peace of mind of knowing that the compulsory education system in our state can work for every single child, regardless of specific needs.

As my constituents know, quality education for every student is a high priority on my list and I take great solace knowing that we will continue to move in the right direction in our state when it comes to education as we get ready to enter into a new fiscal year.

There is still a lot of work to do, but it is good to take stock of these important accomplishments which are truly great Arizona First policies.

Editor's note: Beverly Pingerelli represents Arizona Legislative District 28.