Arizona

Arizona Treats Poor Families Under Its Income Tax Better Than Most Other States

 

Arizona's 1999 income tax threshold — the income level at which families begin paying income tax:	Ranking among 42 states with income taxes
For two-parent families of four: $23,600.	9th highest
For single-parent families of three: $20,100.	8th highest
Arizona's 1999 income tax on working-poor and near-poor families:
No tax on families with incomes at the poverty line ($17,028 for family of four, $13,290 for family of three).
No tax on families of three or four with full-time minimum-wage earnings ($10,712).
No tax on families with incomes at 125% of the poverty line ($21,285 for a family of four, $16,613 for a family of three).
The only states with more favorable income tax treatment of working-poor and near-poor families are states that have refundable income tax credits.
Arizona has consistently exempted families with below-poverty earnings from the income tax. Because Arizona's tax threshold for families of four was increased substantially during the 1990s, the threshold has risen further above the poverty line. (See chart.) In 1991, a family of four owed no tax until its income reached 8 percent above the poverty line.  Arizona's tax threshold is now 39 percent above the poverty line.