By Caleb Taylor Are you a woman majoring in economics? If so, you should consider attending the Second Annual Women in Economics Symposium on Feb. 28, 2019 sponsored by and hosted at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Participants will discuss issues and opportunities in the field of economics. In addition to networking and […]
ACRE Review
Why Do Arkansas’s Business Taxes Now Rank 46th out of the 50 States?
By Caleb Taylor Arkansas dropped three spots from 43rd to 46th from 2018 to 2019 in the Tax Foundation’s annual Small Business Tax Climate Index. The report was released on September 26th and is authored by the Tax Foundation’s Jared Walczak, Scott Drenkard and Joseph Bishop-Henchman. According to the authors, the index is “designed to […]
Why should counties improve their transparency?
By Caleb Taylor What can county governments do to improve transparency? ACRE Policy Analyst Mavuto Kalulu and Program Coordinator Terra Aquia discussed this and more with Paul Harrell on the Conduit News radio program on September 26th. Kalulu and Aquia along with Joyce Ajayi, a candidate in the Interdisciplinary PhD in Leadership Studies program at […]
Let the Sunshine In: County Leaders Hear How to Improve Government Transparency
By Caleb Taylor How can Arkansas counties improve their online transparency? Arkansas Center for Research in Economics (ACRE) Policy Analyst Mavuto Kalulu and ACRE Program Coordinator Terra Aquia discussed this and the findings of a new Transparency Index at the County Judges 2018 Fall meeting on September 14th in North Little Rock. County Judges are […]
This County Has Arkansas’s Most Transparent Government
By Caleb Taylor Is your county government giving citizens all the facts they need to stay informed? You can find out through a new Transparency Index released by the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics this week. This inaugural index produced by ACRE Policy Analyst Mavuto Kalulu and Program Coordinator Terra Aquia ranks all Arkansas […]
How do state licensing rules affect property crime rates?
By Caleb Taylor When occupational licensing laws make it hard for people, especially young people, to get jobs, that may lead to the “motive and opportunity” to commit property crimes. That’s the groundbreaking research result from UCA Associate Professor of Economics and ACRE Scholar Dr. Thomas Snyder and UCA graduate student Saliou N. Ouattara in […]
Legislators Move on Proposals from ACRE’s “Road Map to Tax Reform”
By Caleb Taylor Arkansas Tax Reform & Relief Legislative Task Force members voted August 22nd to approve a report that recommends reducing the top personal income tax rate to 6.5 percent, consolidate its three rate schedules, and more. The top personal income tax rate is currently 6.9 percent. The plan would cut taxes for individuals […]
Stepping Back from the “Tax Cliffs”: Tax Reform Plans Take Shape for Arkansas
By Caleb Taylor Legislators took a big step towards finalizing their tax reform priorities for the 2019 session. Arkansas Tax Reform & Relief Legislative Task Force members voted August 7th to pursue a comprehensive tax reform proposal that would reduce the top personal income tax rate to 6.5 percent and consolidate its three rate schedules. […]
Tax Reform Task Force Takes a Good Look at 3 Ways to Cut the Income Tax
By Caleb Taylor And then there were three. Three tax reform proposals were selected by the Arkansas Tax Reform & Relief Task Force as worthy of further study by outside consultants on June 26th. Income Tax Proposals The three proposals include a plan previously announced by Gov. Asa Hutchinson and two new plans. Hutchinson’s plan […]
QACF Brings “No Increases” In Employment, Bundrick Says
By Caleb Taylor What is the Quick Action Closing Fund (QACF) and what reforms should be considered to protect taxpayers? Jacob Bundrick, a policy analyst at the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics, was on the Conduit News radio program Wednesday morning to answer these questions and more. The QACF allows the state to provide […]