Since Governor Sarah Sanders took office barely 18 months ago, more than one million Arkansas taxpayers have benefited from hundreds of millions in personal income tax relief.

But with another round of income tax cuts on the horizon (as soon as this week), the usual suspects are working overtime to confuse Arkansans about this latest proposal, decrying it as simply “tax cuts for the rich” and “tax breaks for Governor Sanders’s rich donors.” Poppycock.

In fact, newly obtained data, analyzed and published here for the first time, reveals quite a different reality:

• 40 percent of Arkansas adults already pay no income tax at all, leaving 60 percent to carry the entire burden;
• Three out of every five taxpayers are in the highest tax bracket, not just “the wealthy;” and
• The proposed tax cuts provide relief to all taxpayers in the top bracket equally, including Arkansans making as little as $24,300 per year. 

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1. MORE THAN 1 MILLION ARKANSAS ADULTS PAY NO INCOME TAX

According to data obtained by Opportunity Arkansas from the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), 1,364,425 individuals filed taxes in Arkansas in 2023. Subtracting out minors from the overall population, that leaves slightly more than one million adult Arkansans who paid absolutely no income taxes in 2023. Many of these folks also qualify for numerous welfare programs, some of which (e.g. Medicaid) contain no work requirements, time limits, or cost sharing of any serious amount. 

DFA data suggests another 230,000 Arkansans reported less than $10,000 in taxable income, meaning they paid a negligible amount of taxes, in some cases well under $100. Add that figure with those who pay nothing, and you’re talking about roughly half the state of Arkansas that pays nothing or pays the lowest rate.

To be very clear, we are not advocating for tax increases on these lower-income populations. Quite to the contrary, we do not believe anyone in Arkansas should be paying income tax whatsoever. It’s a tax and a punishment on work and we've committed to fighting for income tax reductions until it's entirely gone.

But the Arkansas Left wants you to believe that somehow, these people are being hurt while the Arkansas “billionaire class” is just raking it in.

It’s just nonsense. In reality, nearly half of Arkansas adults pay nothing or pay the lowest rate.

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2. NEARLY TWO-THIRDS OF TAXPAYERS PAY THE TOP RATE–AND THEY'RE ALL ABOUT TO GET A TAX CUT

What opponents of commonsense tax relief also don’t want you to know is that Arkansas’s top income tax bracket starts at just $24,300. That’s less than half the state’s median household income.

According to DFA data, approximately 840,000 filers–or more than 60 percent of taxpayers–fall in this category.

When this latest round of tax cuts becomes law, every single one of these workers will see their taxes go down. Full stop.

But, for some mysterious reason, opponents do not want the public to know this. They are out in full force spreading the myth that only “the rich” will benefit.

So we have to ask: Do Arkansas leftists really think workers making $24,300 are “rich”?

We don’t. And we think they should get to keep more of their hard-earned money.

That’s a single Arkansas mom, waiting tables in Little Rock at minimum wage. 

It’s a dad, working as a mechanic, who’s trying to put food on the table for his family of four but is grappling with the rising cost of, well, everything. 

It’s a law enforcement or corrections officer in Mississippi County, putting their life on the line to keep Arkansans safe.

It’s a teacher in Lonoke or Crossett. 

It’s a business owner–like Wes Sullins of Conway–grappling with crushing inflation.

All of these Arkansans fall within the top tax bracket and are taxed at the same rate as “millionaires and billionaires.” Why does the Arkansas Left insist on calling them “rich” and fighting any effort to give them relief?

The proposed tax cuts will benefit the vast majority of Arkansas taxpayers because the majority of taxpayers are in the top bracket. And that’s a good thing. 

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3. GOV. SANDERS’S PROPOSED TAX CUTS WOULD BENEFIT ALL TAXPAYERS IN THE TOP INCOME BRACKET EQUALLY

As noted, since the top personal income tax rate kicks in at just $24,300, most Arkansas taxpayers will see a tax cut under Gov. Sanders’s proposal.

But just as important to note is that, as a percent of taxes paid in the top bracket, a millionaire will see the same exact percent cut as someone earning just $25,000.

In other words, the tax cuts are structured in a way that provides relief in a fair, equitable fashion. Far from a cash grab for the richest Arkansans, they provide relief for the overwhelming majority of taxpayers.

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BOTTOM LINE: GOV. SANDERS’S PLAN WILL DELIVER MEANINGFUL RELIEF TO THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF ARKANSAS TAXPAYERS

Those standing in the way of tax relief for hardworking Arkansans would have you believe that the proposed tax cuts aren’t targeted at low-income families. The truth is, most low-income Arkansans pay no taxes whatsoever.

Of those that do pay taxes in Arkansas, most are paying the very top rate. And as their income rises, their tax bill rises by an even greater percentage.

Gov. Sanders’s tax relief plan would reduce taxes equitably, so that the tax cut as a percent of taxes paid in the top bracket is the same for a millionaire versus someone reporting just $25,000 in taxable income.

Arkansans desperately need additional tax relief, and with another multi-hundred-million-dollar surplus on the horizon, Gov. Sanders has put forth a commonsense plan that delivers just that.