Arkansas governor to call special session on tax cut plan
LITTLE ROCK -- Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday that he'll call the Legislature back into session next week to take up a tax cut plan, and that he hoped lawmakers would hold off on efforts to enact an abortion ban similar to one in neighboring Texas.
Hutchinson said the planned special session was set to begin Dec. 7, with its focus primarily on the tax cut package that calls for reducing the state's top income tax rate from 5.9% to 4.9%. The package, which also includes corporate tax cuts and a low-income tax credit, would cost the state $135 million in the current fiscal year and grow to nearly $498 million when fully implemented in 2026.
"I hope we have a short session, we do the business and we keep our focus on the tax cuts, which was the plan all along," Hutchinson told reporters.
Hutchinson is pushing for the tax cuts after the state ended its fiscal year in July with a nearly $1 billion surplus. A coalition of advocacy groups earlier Tuesday called on the Legislature to focus on funding needed services rather than a tax cut they said would primarily benefit higher earners.
Read more: https://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/2021/nov/30/arkansas-governor-to-call-special-session-on-tax/