Blog Post

Saban, Pope, and the Benefits Theory of Taxation

By Adam Chodorow. 

This Article examines Arizona’s jurisprudence interpreting the state constitution’s anti-diversion provision, which requires that revenues raised from road users be spent on the roads. It argues that the courts adopted a cramped, technical interpretation that severs the provision from its motivating purpose, the benefits theory of taxation, which requires that tax burdens be allocated based on the benefits taxpayers receive. Full Article.