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 to those who make $29,000 or less per year, who would get nothing.
The richest one percent of Arkansans, those with total incomes of $346,000 or more, would see an average tax cut of $1,275 and would receive over one-fourth (26 percent) of the total benefits of the proposed cut. The next highest four percent, those with incomes between $155,000 and $346,000, would see an average tax cut of $301 and would receive 24 percent of the total benefits.
The bill doesn’t offer many benefits to middle-income Arkansas families. The middle 20 percent of Arkansas taxpayers (those making between $29,900, and $49,000 a year) would see an average tax cut of only $7 – just three percent of the total benefits from the tax cut. The bottom 40 percent of Arkansas taxpayers, those who make less than $29,000, would see no tax cut (on average) and their share of the bill’s benefits would be zero.
Read more about what kind of an impact HB 1585 will have here.