Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a tax cut into law on Wednesday during a special legislation session this week. Under provisions of House Bill 1001, the top individual income tax rate will drop from 4.4% to 3.9%. Governor Sanders says this tax cut will give half a billion dollars back to more than a million taxpayers. It becomes the third income tax cut in a little more than a year, and just the latest in a series of similar cuts dating back to 2015.
But Democratic Representative Denise Garner says the cuts favor the rich. “Those in the top 20%, making over $120,000 a year, get 70%. The top 1%, those making over $450,000 a year are benefitting twice as much as someone in the middle and almost eight times more than the bottom 20.”
As Josie Lenora and Daniel Breen, with Little Rock Public Radio report, the new law also dropped the top corporate income tax rate from 4.8% to 4.3%. It becomes one of the five pieces of legislation Governor Sanders signed. One bill approved by the Arkansas State Legislature funds the Game and Fish Commission. Another new law, House Bill 1002, expands the tax credit from $425 to $500 for homeowners.
The governor also signed a resolution to oppose The Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024. This amendment would legalize abortion in the state. The resolution the governor signed is symbolic and does not stop canvassers from continuing work to collect signatures. A second resolution to oppose The Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2024 died in the house. This amendment would put parameters on private schools getting tax money.
*Note: an earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the resolution opposing the Education Rights Amendment was signed. It failed in the house.
