The Arkansas special session will address a number of key issues. | Canva
The Arkansas special session will address a number of key issues. | Canva
As a special session of the Arkansas State Legislature quickly approaches, residents anticipate debate on a number of issues. Among those issues are tax cuts.
Several lawmakers in Arkansas view tax cuts as one of the only ways to keep Arkansas competitive on a national scale when it comes to jobs, business and growth in critical industries. In doing so, Arkansas would follow the lead of states like Texas and Tennessee, who do not have an income tax and are thriving economically.
Arkansas is currently weighing lowering the state's income tax rate from 5.9% to 5.5% by 2023, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. After observing how the cut impacted the government's revenue and budget, the tax could be further cut to 4.9%.
They are also considering Sen. Jonathan Dismang's proposal which would whittle down the number of tax brackets from three to two. This would be accomplished by merging the lower and middle tables into one, with the cutoff between the higher and lower tax bracket being $82,000, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
Sen. Trent Garner also submitted a bill that would effectively take Arkansas individual income tax to zero as of 2022. He did not ask for a vote when he submitted the bill and instead plans to study the proposal in the meantime.
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