Arkansas Lawmakers approve governors $50M tax cut plan
LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas lawmakers approved Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s $50 million low-income tax cut plan on Monday, setting the stage for a debate over deeper tax reductions the Republican has vowed to champion in two years.
The proposal to cut taxes for more than 650,000 residents making less than $21,000 cleared the House on a 90-2 vote. The Senate earlier approved an identical version of the plan on a 33-0 vote. One of the bills must be approved by either chamber before it heads to the governor’s desk.
Hutchinson won the support of fellow Republicans who had wanted deeper cuts, proposing a 16-member legislative task force that would recommend comprehensive tax code changes by the fall of 2018. He also secured near-unanimous support from Democrats who had expressed concerns about cutting taxes while the state’s revenue is coming in lower than expected.
“Our governor wanted to get this tax cut out, but he wanted to show commitment to doing real tax reform in our state,” Rep. Mathew Pitsch, the top Republican in the House, said before the vote.
Read more: http://www.baxterbulletin.com/story/news/2017/01/24/arkansas-lawmakers-approve-governors-tax-cut-plan/96989358/