Taxing Time: Lawmakers On Verge of Record-Breaking Tax Increase
By: Import User
Updated: January 7, 2009
The longest special session in Arkansas history could make history once again.
House Bill 1030 calls for a seven-eighth`s cent sales tax increase. If passed, it would be the largest tax increase in Arkansas history. The tax also targets services that currently do not pay sales tax, including dry-cleaning and tattooing.
"We came together with what we have now. Is it everything that I like? No, but it is what we felt like we could get through and meet this court mandate," says bill supporter Sen. Tim Wooldridge (D-Paragould).
Lawmakers admit the bill is far from perfect, but say they`ll study ways to tax Arkansans in a more progressive way. "We want to be sure we`re in a position to say, `We had to hold our nose and do this today, but we are going to engage in some progressive tax reform and this will not happen again,`" says Rep. Joyce Elliott (D-Little Rock).
