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Head of Arizona GOP Backs School Sales Tax Hike

The head of the Arizona Republican Party is working to jump-start a stalled legislative proposal that would ask voters to raise the state sales tax to provide additional funding for schools.

State GOP Chair Kelli Ward led a news conference Wednesday with several Republican state lawmakers to boost support for plan in the Legislature. The proposal to boost the current school sales tax from 6/10 of a cent to a penny per dollar would go on the 2020 ballot.

If voters approve, school sales tax revenue would increase from about $700 million a year to more than $1.1 billion. School advocates put an income tax increase on high-earners on last year's ballot but it was blocked by the state Supreme Court.

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