A new half-cent sales tax proposal got a nod of approval from the Arkansas Senate this week. If approved by voters in the 2020 general election, taxes would increase nearly $300 million per year on Arkansans. This is in addition to the new wholesale gas tax passed at the beginning of the week. The combined total for new highway funding is $418 million per year from the people of Arkansas.
Sponsored by Rep. Jeff Wardlaw (R – Warren) and Sen. Lance Eads (R – Springdale), the $300 million proposed constitutional amendment drew zero questions and no debate and passed in about one minute. A procedural move following the vote to hold the bill for three days drew more debate than the actual resolution. Even those who voted against the resolution – Senators Bart Hester and Bob Ballinger wanted to find a way to make sure the resolution was not delayed in getting out of the Senate Chamber.
The combined income tax cuts of $250 million over the past three legislative sessions have now been entirely wiped away with the new gas tax and proposed constitutional amendment (pending passage in 2020) with almost $400 million in new tax revenue coming from the people to government coffers. The state of Arkansas is on pace to increase spending by over $1 billion under Governor Asa Hutchinson’s two terms (8 years total).
Legislation filed to fund highways without raising taxes was not considered by the supermajority Republican legislature.
Both of these taxes ate wrong. The money can be raised with out it. This is another ploy to have the working people foot the majority of the bill . We need to replace most of our state congress and governor with people that are behind the citizens and not their own enrichment.
DO YOU KNOW HOW INFURIATED I AM? I LIVE IN JACKSONVILLE WHICH HAS BEEN TAXED TO DEATH SINCE 1985…..80% of the citizens in Jacksonville are families that qualify for free lunches…..we are currently being scammed for a 100 year extension on a millage FOR NEW SCHOOLS thanks to a Deseg case that finally ended in 2014 when we supposedly became our own district. Turns out this is also a real estate scam to boot considering where the shiny THREE STORY $80M highschool is being built. TELL ME AGAIN with a 9.5 sales tax how the hell we are supposed to afford it with no economy??????