Senate President Warren Petersen Works to Prevent Biden's IRS fromTaking Advantage of "Arizona Families Tax Rebate" Recipients

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                   

Friday, January 19, 2024

Senate President Warren Petersen Works to Prevent Biden's IRS from

Taking Advantage of "Arizona Families Tax Rebate" Recipients

PHOENIX, ARIZONA— In response to the reckless decision made this week by the Biden Administration's IRS to collect federal income taxes on the 2023 Arizona Families Tax Rebate, Senate President Warren Petersen is working diligently to come to a resolution that will protect the more than 700,000 recipients from having to give the federal government a portion of those dollars this tax season.

The Arizona Families Tax Rebate was championed by Republican lawmakers to provide relief to families struggling under the weight of crippling inflation. The bill passed out of the Legislature on May 10, 2023 and was signed into law the next day. More than a dozen other states have passed similar legislation, in which the IRS concluded those funds were not considered taxable income.

With tax season commencing on January 29, families are now scrambling to figure out exactly what is going on and what obligations they must fulfill as a result of this arbitrary action by the federal government.

This week, President Petersen has been in contact with the Arizona Department of Revenue, the Arizona Attorney General's Office, and most recently, the Office of U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema to discuss next steps to protect Arizona families. He will work to make contact with the IRS and the U.S. Treasury in the coming days.

"It makes zero sense that the IRS is choosing to hurt Arizona families by taxing a tax rebate," said President Petersen. "I'm thankful for the help from Senator Sinema's office in working to get this matter front and center with the IRS and U.S. Treasury. With tax season less than two weeks away, time is of the essence. While litigation likely isn't the best approach, I appreciate the Attorney General's office reaching out to us on this matter. I am, however, incredibly disappointed our Governor is again nowhere to be found on an issue that could ultimately cost our citizens tens of millions of dollars. I'm calling on her to not turn a blind eye on this issue, as she did with gas prices last spring, and to work with us on solving this problem for Arizona families."

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For more information, contact:

Kim Quintero

Director of Communications | Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus

kquintero@azleg.gov