Screen Shot 2019-03-01 at 1

Earlier this week, the Arkansas House Revenue and Taxation Committee approved Senate Bill 336, legislation that would force the hardworking people of Arkansas to spend more money at the pump. If implemented, this bill would impose an additional wholesale sales tax on gas and diesel fuel, undermining the pro-growth income tax cut that was signed into law just last week. 
 

Americans for Tax Reform sent a letter to Arkansas lawmakers urging them to vote NO on SB 336. The full text of the letter is below:
 

To: Members of the Arkansas House of Representatives

From: Americans for Tax Reform

Re: Oppose Senate Bill 336

 

Dear Representative,

 

On behalf of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) and our supporters across Arkansas, I urge you to oppose Senate Bill 336, legislation that would impose an additional tax on gasoline and diesel.
 

If implemented, this bill would undermine the enactment of Act 182, Arkansas’s new pro-growth tax reform that will bring the top individual income tax rate down from 6.9 percent to 5.9 percent once fully implemented, and force taxpayers across the state to fork over more of their hard-earned income at the pump.
 

As shown on the chart below, excluding Tennessee, Arkansas’s current fuel tax rates are already higher than all of its neighboring states. SB 336 would exacerbate this gap by imposing a new wholesale sales tax on both gasoline and diesel fuel, at 3 and 6 cents per gallon. Rates proposed by SB 336 are in red.
 

*Tax rates are measured in cents per gallon. Source: https://www.taxadmin.org/assets/docs/Research/Rates/mf.pdf

 

Under SB 336, Arkansas would replace Tennessee as having the unfortunate distinction as home to the highest diesel tax in the region, and have an even less regionally competitive gas tax.
 

Rather than taking more money from the hardworking people across Arkansas, lawmakers should better prioritize and make more efficient use of existing funds. ATR opposes SB 336 and all other efforts to raise taxes, including legislation that would refer tax increases to the ballot, and urges lawmakers to vote against them.
 

ATR will be educating Arkansas taxpayers as to how lawmakers vote on SB 336 and other issues this session. Please look to ATR as a resource on tax, budget, and regulatory matters pending before you.
 

Sincerely,

Grover Norquist

President

Americans for Tax Reform