Arizona Tax Wins, Oklahoma Minimum Wage Hike Defeated, Economic Momentum in Kentucky: Jonathan Williams on The Hugh Hewitt Show
"It was a great week for taxpayers in Arizona."
Hugh Hewitt spoke with ALEC President and Chief Economist Jonathan Williams about how Arizona became the first state to enact full conformity with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s tax changes. The two also discussed how Oklahoma defeated a massive minimum wage increase and how Kentucky has improved its economic outlook.
“Arizona is the first state to fully enact a law to implement the One Big Beautiful Bill into law,” Williams explained. “Not just for individuals but also for employers by allowing for those really important pieces, like the expensing and depreciation rules that were part of that package.”
Williams also noted that these bills are “amazing for job creation to keep Arizona’s economy humming.”
The discussion then shifted from tax to labor policy, as Hewitt asked Williams about Oklahoma voters’ rejection of a statewide minimum wage increase.
“It’s another big victory, and one that was probably way under the radar for most media outlets,” he remarked. “Cooler heads did prevail in Oklahoma, where voters came in and overwhelmingly rejected a measure that would have nearly doubled the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour over time. Supporters of a more free-market, rational policy when it comes to minimum wage were outgunned, but this one went down in flames by about fourteen percentage points at the ballot box.”
The conversation concluded with Hewitt and Williams covering Kentucky’s recent legislative achievements and the state’s improvement in its Rich States, Poor States economic ranking. Williams credited Kentucky’s efforts to phase out the personal income tax and other pro-growth policies.
“Kentucky has been a state that’s doing some really amazing things,” Williams emphasized. “Under current law, they have a phaseout of their personal income tax, so every time tax revenues continue to come in, they use part of it to buy down the income tax rate on individuals and small businesses. So, keep looking for Kentucky to continue to improve in the rankings.”