By Caleb Taylor How has the pandemic affected the local economy? ACRE Scholar and UCA Associate Professor of Economics Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl will discuss the latest economic data on Conway and Faulkner County as an invited guest speaker of the Conway Noon Lions Club at the Hole In the Wall Cafe at noon on Tuesday, […]
Mitchell, Smith Discuss Taxes and LTRF on Dave Elswick Show
By Caleb Taylor What’s the latest news on taxes and spending policies in Arkansas? ACRE Director and UCA Associate Professor of Economics Dr. David Mitchell and ACRE Legislative Research Associate Dr. Nathan Smith joined the Dave Elswick Show on 101.1 FM in Little Rock to answer this and more on Monday, April 26th. Smith recommended […]
ACRE Experts Featured in “Believe in Arkansas”
By Caleb Taylor Three ACRE experts recently appeared in “Believe in Arkansas” segments hosted by Americans for Prosperity. UCA Assistant Professor of Economics and ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl discussed state government spending and Arkansas’s tax rates on March 25th. For more on Horpedahl’s recent research and testimony on sales taxes in Arkansas, check out […]
Special Elections: How Arkansas’s Sales Taxes Got So High
By Caleb Taylor Arkansas legislators will make another attempt to rein in local special elections that have contributed to Arkansas having the third highest state and local sales tax rate in the nation at 9.51%. House Bill 1368 by State Rep. David Ray R-District 40 would limit special elections to primary and general election dates […]
Economist Examines New Arkansas Budget Plans
By Caleb Taylor Gov. Asa Hutchinson proposed biennial budget released last Tuesday contains an early Christmas present for new Arkansans, but does it make larger reforms more difficult? Hutchinson announced on Nov. 10 that he’d like to cut the top individual income tax rate to 4.9 percent for new residents of the Natural State. He […]
How to Prepare Arkansas for the Next Recession
By Caleb Taylor Arkansas’s small businesses are still feeling the effects of the economic downturn from COVID-19, ACRE Director and UCA Associate Professor of Economics Dr. David Mitchell said in a speech to about 25 Conway Kiwanis Club members at Larry’s Pizza on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Mitchell said the Natural State could be better prepared […]
Permanent 0.5% Sales Tax on Ballot
By Caleb Taylor Should Arkansas approve a permanent 0.5 percent sales tax for road funding in November? UCA Assistant Professor of Economics and ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl gave voters a few important points to consider in “Paying for roads,” in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on September 25. The 0.5 percent sales tax on the ballot […]
Is Arkansas’s Sales Tax Holiday Really Worth Celebrating?
By Caleb Taylor Arkansas’s annual sales tax holiday allows shoppers in Arkansas the opportunity to purchase certain school supplies, school art supplies, school instructional materials, and clothing free of state and local sales or use tax one weekend per year. The holiday occurred on August 1-2 this year. Sixteen other states have similar back-to-school holidays. […]
Severance Taxes Too Volatile
By Macy Scheck Between November 5, 2019 and January 21, 2020, natural gas prices dropped 33.6%. This dramatic price decline occurred even before March, when the coronavirus began to have a large impact on U.S. economic activity. This price volatility causes fluctuations in the revenue the state receives from its taxes on natural gas sales, […]
Arkansas Handling Economic Turmoil Better Than Most States
By Caleb Taylor Arkansas is doing relatively well so far compared to the rest of the nation in weathering the economic shocks from COVID-19 since March, according to UCA Assistant Professor of Economics Jeremy Horpedahl. Horpedahl, an ACRE Scholar, spoke to attendees of a webinar hosted by Americans for Prosperity-Arkansas on May 11 about economic […]