Arkansas lawmakers have approved Governor Asa Hutchinson’s $50 million low-income tax cut plan, House Bill 1159, setting the stage for a debate over deeper tax reductions the Republican has vowed to champion in two years. The proposal to cut taxes for more than 650,000 residents making less than $21,000 cleared the House Monday on a 90-2 vote.
District 100 Representative Nelda Speaks, District 99’s Jack Fortner and District 61’s Scott Baltz voted in favor of the Bill. State Representative Michelle Gray of District 62, John Payton of District 64 and David Branscum of District 83 also gave the bill a thumbs up.
The only two nays were District 66’s Josh Miller of Heber Springs and District 34’s John Walker of Little Rock.
The Senate earlier approved an identical version of the plan on a 33-0 vote. A final vote is expected later this week before the legislation heads to the governor’s desk.
Hutchinson won the support of fellow Republicans who had wanted deeper cuts, proposing a 16-member legislative task force that would recommend comprehensive tax code changes by the fall of 2018. The House postponed a vote on a competing $40 million tax credit proposal.
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