INCOME TAX HISTORY
(June 2024) Following is a brief income tax history after this year’s tax cut.
ARKANSAS INCOME TAX RATE CUT TO 3.9%
(June 25, 2024) Today’s monthly jobs report provides further evidence of strong growth within Arkansas’ Construction sector, a development noted last week in a Policy Foundation research memo.
State Retains Mckinsey & Co. For Efficiency Initiative
(1Q-2024) The state of Arkansas has retained management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. for a three-year efficiency initiative, according to a recently-announced contract between the two parties. The 128-page $5.5 million services contract includes information about the new project’s approach to efficiency. “The State,” the contract states, “intends to modernize and update both internal and […]
Arkansas Higher Education Spending
“All post-secondary students enrolled in public, private or for-profit colleges and universities operating in Arkansas are our customers. To successfully serve those students, we also serve colleges and universities, policy makers, and taxpayers.” Arkansas Department of Higher Education statement, Policy Foundation Efficiency Study report (2016) (January 2024) Spending on Arkansas higher education increased between 2016 […]
State School Choice Market Nears 115,000
(December 2023) Nearly 115,000 Arkansas students attend charter, home or private schools, or are enrolled in a public school choice program in the current school year, state Department of Education and other records show. “The most callused aspect of the current education monopoly in Arkansas is that it willingly and deliberately forces children–except those whose […]
Nearly 5,000 Students Utilize LEARNS Act ESAs
(October 2023) Nearly 5,000 Arkansas K-12 students have taken advantage of the education savings account (ESA) component of the LEARNS Act, according to a Policy Foundation analysis of state Department of Education data. LEARNS is a major education reform advanced by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. It is an acronym for literacy, empowerment, accountability, readiness, […]
Income Tax Chronology
“The state’s income tax should be reduced … Consider an across-the-board cut, reduce the marginal rates, exempt taxpayers below a certain income level from filing, and expedite the process of indexing for inflation (ImprovingProductivity by Reducing Taxes and Taxes and Savings in Arkansas, Arkansas Policy Foundation, 1998 study) (September 2023) Following is a brief Arkansas […]
Marijuana Taxation
(July 2023) Arkansans defeated a marijuana legalization measure last November after approving an initiated medical marijuana amendment in 2016. The 2022 proposal would have established a lower tax rate than the 2016 amendment. (1) A Tax Foundation report states, “Recreational marijuana taxation is one of the hottest policy issues in the U.S.” (2) APF has […]
Economic Expansions Tend To Produce State Revenue Surpluses
(July 2023) Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders; her predecessor, former Gov. Asa Hutchinson; and state legislators have reduced the income tax rate to 4.7% since 2015. The top state income tax rate was 7.0% a decade ago. Some critics make class-warfare arguments to oppose the tax cuts. Others claim the state cannot afford them. Another […]
Little Improvement In Reading Scores In 21st Century
(2Q-2023) The average score of Arkansas fourth- and eighth grade students “was not significantly different” from their average score in 1998, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The Center is affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education, and is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education. Gov. Sarah […]
