Arkansas governor says he expects tougher fight on tax cut plan in coming session

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson expects a tougher fight over his $50 million tax cut plan than what he encountered two years ago, when he won approval for a much larger reduction for thousands of middle-income taxpayers.

In an interview with The Associated Press ahead of the legislative session that begins Monday, Hutchinson said he wouldn't support rolling back a grocery tax cut enacted four years ago to help pay for a larger reduction in taxes. The Republican governor has proposed cutting taxes for 657,000 Arkansas residents making less than $21,000 a year, but some GOP lawmakers are pushing for a larger reduction.

Hutchinson said he doesn't support an idea floated by some lawmakers to halt a grocery tax cut enacted in 2013, and said he didn't believe there was support in the Legislature either.

"It would be considered a tax increase because it's a cut that is already in place and has already been promised, so you would be reneging on what has been a commitment," Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson said he expects it won't be as easy to pitch the tax cut like two years ago, when lawmakers approved his $103 million in reductions for middle-income residents.

"I realize we've got to sell it and we've got to compete with the other ideas that will be in the marketplace," Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson also said the Legislature should hold off on any changes to the state's hybrid Medicaid expansion while Congress debates the future of the federal health overhaul that enabled it and expects the state will able to resume executions this year.

Upcoming Events