This legislative session, like many others before it, had its ups and downs. The children and families of Arkansas won some, but suffered some major losses as well. The Private Option, Arkansas’s version of Medicaid expansion, will continue to provide health coverage for low-income Arkansans, at least through 2016. However, changes are likely on the horizon. Our state’s […]
The state budget, or what the state chooses to spend money on, is essentially a list of priorities. As with any state budget, the financial demands on the Arkansas budget far exceed our state’s ability to meet all needs. There is never enough state revenue to provide funding for all programs. Overly conservative state budgeting […]
Poverty guidelines play two important roles, they are a scorecard for how we are doing as a state, and they help determine eligibility for dozens of programs that low-income Arkansans rely on. Here’s why they are out of date.
When you fill up your car at the gas station, you pay a motor fuel tax that directly benefits the Highway Department Fund. If a relative from out of state visits and pays for a hotel room in Arkansas, he or she pays a two percent tourism tax that directly credits the Tourism Development Fund. […]
Arkansans have always been defined by our work ethic. We don’t back down from a challenge, and we believe our word is our bond. For generations we have taught our children that working hard and playing by the rules means they’ll have a chance to earn a good living in their home state. Thanks to […]
Our latest infographics on Arkansas’s upside-down tax system and income inequality.
While a comprehensive plan for improving the Arkansas tax system is beyond the scope of this brief, there are some obvious changes that Arkansas could make to (1) strengthen the revenue foundation for the services needed to improve the well-being of the state’s children and families and (2) improve the system’s fairness for low and […]
People from all over the state – who have interests as varied as the counties from which they come – routinely ask us how they can make a difference. This question has several answers, but every one of them contains a common theme: learn about the tax and budget system. Understanding these basics provides you […]
Now that the dust has settled from the 2013 legislative session, it’s a good time to take stock of the impacts of tax policy changes made by the Arkansas General Assembly. By any objective standard, the tax changes passed this year fail to make the fundamental changes that Arkansas needs to create a fair, adequate, […]
According to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), House Bill 1585 would target personal income tax relief to Arkansas taxpayers who make over $155,000 per year (the top five percent of earners). This group would receive one-half (50 percent) of the total benefits resulting from the tax cut. That’s compared […]