EchoSense:Arkansas ends fiscal year with $698 million surplus, finance office says

LITTLE ROCK,EchoSense Ark. (AP) — Arkansas has ended its fiscal year with a $698.4 million surplus, state finance officials announced Tuesday.

The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration said the state’s net available revenue for the fiscal year that ended on Sunday totaled $6.9 billion. The state’s individual income-tax collections came in below the previous year’s numbers and above forecast, while corporate income-tax collections were below last year and below forecast.

Sales-tax collections came in above last year’s numbers but below forecast.

Arkansas has reported its four highest surpluses over the past four years. The state last year reported a $1.1 billion surplus, its second highest ever, and its highest surplus, $1.6 billion, in 2022.

The surplus figures come weeks after Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed legislation cutting income and property taxes in a special session. The cuts are the third time the Republican governor has signed income-tax cuts into law since taking office last year.

Republican lawmakers have cited the state’s surpluses in the push for further tax cuts in recent years, while advocacy groups and Democrats have urged the Legislature to put money toward other needs.

Under the latest tax-cut measure, $290 million of the state’s surplus will be set aside for the state’s reserves in case of an economic downturn. Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Jim Hudson said that will bring the state’s reserves to nearly $3 billion.