JoAnna Mendoza, the Democratic candidate for Arizona's 6th Congressional District, is being accused of collecting an unauthorized tax credit.
The Accusation
Arizona law allows homeowners to receive state aid to education tax credits that offset local school district taxes. Mendoza is one such beneficiary, having received the credit since she bought a Tucson home in 2021.
Two years later, in 2023, Mendoza bought a second property in Red Rock, renting out the Tucson home for a $20,000 profit.
The problem is, Arizona law permits homeowners to claim only one primary residence, and Mendoza claimed both as her primary residence, receiving the state aid-to-education tax credit on the Tucson property despite not living there, while also collecting the credit in Red Rock.
The Mendoza campaign acknowledged the discrepancy to the Arizona Republic, saying it was an "honest mistake" and that Mendoza is working to correct the error and pay the money back.
"JoAnna is already in touch with the county assessor to correct the filing mistake," said campaign spokesman Kyle McCarthy, adding, "She will pay whatever she owes, which is estimated to be a few hundred dollars."
Another Line of Attack
Nevertheless, Republicans are not letting her off easy for it.
"While regular Arizonans played by the rules, far-left special interest lobbyist Joanna Mendoza clearly thought she's above the law," said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Ben Petersen. "Lobbyist Mendoza would be just another corrupt politician enriching herself while raising taxes on hardworking Arizonans and driving up the cost of living."
The unauthorized collection of the aid-to-education tax is the latest facet of her personal life to come under scrutiny since July, when it was revealed that Mendoza married a Syrian national named Tariq Alrawwass for approximately two weeks, which has yet to be explained.
Several days after the discovery of her brief marriage, Mendoza's official campaign account on Instagram was found to show her following the pages of OnlyFans creators and practitioners of witchcraft.
