Brief of Amici Curiae Tax Scholars in Support of Invest in Education in Molera v. Hobbs

Arizona’s 2020 Invest in Education Act was a ballot initiative to establish a 3.5% surcharge on taxable income above certain thresholds. In Molera v. Hobbs, Plaintiffs sought to invalidate the initiative, claiming that the 100-word summary of the initiative that would appear on the ballot was fraudulent or substantially confusing to reasonable Arizona voters. Amici are academics who study taxation and the public’s understanding of taxation with an interest in the accuracy of public statements about tax law. They wrote in support of the initiative. Contrary to plaintiffs’ claims, the amici demonstrate that Invest in Education’s 100-word summary states clearly and unambiguously that the initiative “establishes a 3.5% surcharge on taxable income” above the threshold amounts. That is precisely what the initiative does, and there is nothing confusing, misleading, or fraudulent about this description.