Note: The Dover Dixon Horne SALT practice has joined Wright Lindsey Jennings! We will migrate the Arkansas Tax & Incentives Update to the WLJ website soon. The Arkansas Economic Development Commission, part of the Department of Commerce, has been diligently updating its rules to reflect credits and incentives legislation from the 2021 legislative session. Two rulemakings are underway for specific industry credits: An emergency rule for the Railroad Modernization Act of 2021, which created a transferrable income tax credit for 50% of qualifying track maintenance costs on regional ..read more

The Arkansas General Assembly reconvenes on December 7 for its Second Extraordinary Session, with a principal purpose of cutting income taxes. Identical bills SB1 (Dismang) and HB1001 (Maddox) have been filed with large majorities of both chambers signed up as cosponsors. The bills are expected to move quickly through the legislature. They will provide phased in top rate cuts, bracket harmonization yielding further relief for the middle class, and other reforms. At $500 million, it is expected to be the largest tax cut in Arkansas history. The General Assembly had been judicious with tax ..read more

Registration is open for the 2021 Arkansas Tax Conference of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce. This in-person conference will be December 2 at the State House Convention Center in Little Rock. (Attendees must be vaccinated.) With the dust settling on tax legislation from the 2021 legislative session and several recent judicial decisions, there is much to catch up on. Planned sessions include: What Do Washington's Tax Plans Mean for Arkansas Businesses? Top 10 Arkansas Tax Developments & Trends Legislator's Roundtable: Let's Talk Tax! Sales Tax Updates from t ..read more

The Office of Revenue Legal Counsel at the Department of Finance and Administration has substantially restricted its opinion letter practice and is currently only accepting opinion requests that meet its interpretation of Rule GR-75. Income tax opinion requests or requests for opinions for undisclosed taxpayers may not be accepted. Taxpayers and their representatives should consider whether Revenue Legal Counsel is likely to accept an opinion request under this new approach before preparing and submitting a request. Historically, Revenue Legal Counsel has had a relatively broad pract ..read more

The Arkansas Court of Appeals recognized the validity of a taxpayer's challenge to the valuation of mineral rights in SWN Production Company (Arkansas), LLC V. Stobaugh, 2021 Ark. App. 324 (September 8, 2021). The opinion, which reversed the circuit court's dismissal of the valuation challenge, continues the trend of limiting authority of Assessment Coordination Division (ACD) guidelines and is also notable for recognizing that a valuation challenge no longer involves deference to the assessor. The taxpayer was challenging valuation of mineral rights in Conway County for th ..read more

For professionals needing an introduction or deep dive into Arkansas sales tax, the Arkansas Sales & Use Tax School will hold sales tax seminars in Little Rock August 26-27 and in Fort Smith September 30-October 1. Faculty will be Jeff Simmons from the SALT Group of Arkansas and DDH attorney Matt Boch. Interested attendees can register by completing the registration form at this link. Seats are limited. The seminar consists of two days: a basic course on the first day and then an advanced course and case studies on the second day. Attendees can attend either or both. The cost is $350 ..read more

Arkansas consumers in the market for computers, tablets, smartphones, and printers should consider buying this coming weekend, August 7-8, as the state's customary sales tax holiday has been expanded to include these electronic devices. Individuals and even businesses may even be interested in doing some buying on the weekend to take advantage of the temporary tax exemption. Arkansas's sales tax holiday, which occurs annually on the first weekend in August, historically has provided a temporary tax exemption for school supplies, clothing under $100, and accessories under $50. Act 944 of 2021&n ..read more

With Arkansas having enacted an independent Tax Appeals Commission that will start July 2022 and begin taking cases January 2023, the next step is to find potential commissioners. The three commissioners will be named by the governor from shortlists provided by stakeholder groups: the Arkansas Supreme Court will submit three names for the chief commissioner (lawyer and CPA), the Arkansas Society of Certified Public Accountants (ARCPA) will submit three names for the CPA commissioner, and the Arkansas Bar Association will submit three names for the lawyer commissioner. ARCPA ..read more

Arkansas’s 2021 regular legislative session saw the enactment of more than 70 tax-related bills, which DDH tax attorneys have summarized. Highlights from the session include: Establishment of an independent Tax Appeals Commission (Act 586); $265 million of one-time tax relief through exemptions for Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness and other coronavirus aid (Act 248) and for supplemental unemployment benefits (Act 154); and An elective entity-level tax option to help small business owners save $50 million or more annually by maximizing the federal deductibility of Arkansas in ..read more

Act 154 creates an exemption from income tax for unemployment compensation benefits paid from federal unemployment funds or under Title IV of the Social Security Act for calendar years 2020 or 2021. Act 248 conforms to the federal exemptions for Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness and certain other coronavirus aid as provided under the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021. In addition, the Act exempts payments received under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program are excluded. Effective for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2019. The estimated savings to Arkansas tax ..read more