Franchise tax administration is moving from the Secretary of State to the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) in 2021. Taxpayers should expect convenient online compliance through the Arkansas Taxpayer Access Point and more systematic efforts to enforce and collect the tax by DFA. Returns are still due by May 1 in 2021. The franchise tax is really two different kinds of taxes. For limited liability companies, insurance companies, and corporations without authorized capital stock, the tax is…

The Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage & Tourism’s Business Interruption Grant (BIG) program opened for applications on Monday, November 16, and will continue taking applications under November 25. Eligible hospitality, travel, recreation, and personal care businesses in Arkansas should apply. Where the Arkansas Ready for Business Grants earlier this year cast a broad net in helping a swathe of Arkansas businesses reopen safely, this new Business Interruption Grant program targets the industries hardest-hit by the coronavirus…

Dover Dixon Horne member Matt Boch was recently interviewed by Arkansas Business and Law360 to discuss Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson’s proposed budget, which includes a temporary income tax break for new Arkansas residents.  However, Boch was focused on the top-earner tax cuts that Hutchison has proposed, which would make the top income tax rate 4.9%. He told Arkansas Business that the five-year plan to hit the 4.9% target would “high earners to locate and remain…

On November 10, Governor Hutchinson announced several tax proposals for his legislative agenda as part of the FYE 2022 budget (Arkansas’s fiscal year runs from July to June). These proposals — and the overall budgetary context — set the agenda for the upcoming legislative session where fiscal space will be tight but with room for a few tax cuts and reforms. Hutchinson’s tax proposals are aimed largely at low- and middle-income Arkansans, including a sales tax reduction on mid-priced used cars. Arkansas is blessed to…

The Arkansas Economic Development Commission has proposed a number of revisions to its Consolidated Incentives Act rules. These proposed changes generally implement the numerous changes made by Act 327 of 2019, which was a once-in-a-decade updating of the Consolidated Incentives Act of 2003, Ark. Code Ann. §§ § 15-4-2701 et seq. This includes the main Arkansas economic development incentives: Tax Back, ArkPlus, Advantage Arkansas, Create Rebate, etc. Businesses considering economic development projects should be careful…

The agenda is up and registration is open for the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce’s 2020 Arkansas Tax Conference! You can attend virtually or in person. Attendees will learn about developments and hot topics for Arkansas taxpayers and preview proposals for the upcoming 2021 legislative session that begins in January. The event provides a chance to hear and ask questions of Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration senior administrators and leading Arkansas practitioners. DDH is proud to be the presenting…

We recently saw a notable retirement at the Department of Finance and Administration: Tom Atchley, the longstanding Administrator of Sales and Use Tax, has retired. Tom has been well known and regarded for expertise in transaction tax matters, including work with the Streamlined Sales Tax Project. With Tom’s retirement: Deanna Munds-Smith will shift from Administrator of Field Audit to Administrator of Sales and Use Tax; Lynne Reynolds will shift from Administrator of Income Tax to…