We hear a lot about what’s going on with the tax-policy debate at the federal level, but we can’t lose sight of important discussions that continue at the state level here in Arkansas. Our state Tax Reform and Relief...
As the U.S. Senate reaches some type of decision on federal health policy this week, it’s likely that the House and Senate will turn their attention to the budget resolution and tax cuts. While the budget cuts proposed by...
Arkansas is on a bumpy, but at least downhill, path towards lower poverty rates according to census data released this morning. While still far above national averages, our child poverty rate is down to about 24 percent. It hasn’t...
Families across the nation are doing better, and public programs like SNAP and refundable tax credits continue to play a critical role in those improvements. This morning, data from the 2016 Current Population Survey was released, giving us insight...
Now that the state’s Tax Reform and Relief Task Force has a consultant in place, we expect to see some big tax policy questions debated over the next few months. The Task Force’s first round of recommendations is due...
The Trump Administration failed America’s children AGAIN this week. It failed them like it has so many times already during the administration’s first year in office. While heartbreaking and disappointing, we should not have been surprised by the repeal...
Tax cuts from the two most recent legislative sessions are making for modest forecasts and eating away at state agency budgets. The joint budget committee met today to go over the new revenue forecast as well as the accompanying...
The modest $35.9 million surplus forecast for the state’s 2016 budget is an ominous sign for the governor’s highway plan (which will require at least $192 million a year in surplus to fill its funding goals in 2017 and...
Arkansas legislators have an opportunity to improve the lives and health of working families by adopting our own state-level Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). At tax time, the EITC gives a boost to working families with low-wage jobs who...
Revenues that fund our schools, roads, and other public goods continue to take a beating because of tax cuts passed in 2013, and another round of cuts is just around the corner. We are six month into fiscal year...