Sen. Jonathan Dismang | https://senate.arkansas.gov/
Sen. Jonathan Dismang | https://senate.arkansas.gov/
A state Senate bill seeking to exempt Arkansans from paying state income taxes on unemployment benefits recently passed the House and is closer to signed into law.
Sponsored by Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R-Beebe) and co-sponsored by State Rep. Joe Jett (R-Success), Senate Bill 236 passed the house with two yes votes, two no votes and three present votes. Jett said that the bill would save unemployed taxpayers $51 million this year, reported Talk Business & Politics.
“The way I see it…the state would be taking a windfall from these folks,” Jett said, as reported by Talk Business & Politics. “We’re all trying to find a balance. These people are struggling without jobs.”
The bill now returns to the Senate for more sponsors before heading to Gov. Asa Hutchinson for review.
A spokesperson for Hutchinson said he will sign the bill, Talk Business & Politics reported.
In 2019, Arkansas had 43,000 residents receiving $98 million in unemployment benefits. In 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, those numbers swelled to 281,000 residents receiving $2.6 billion in benefits.
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