Arkansas voters will decide three ballot issues in the upcoming November general election, referred to them by the Arkansas Legislature. The first proposal, Issue 1, is a constitutional amendment that would make permanent a half-cent sales tax that currently funds constructing and maintaining roads across the state.
Voters in 2012 approved the temporary half-cent sales tax that's set to expire in June 2023. Issue 1 seeks to make that sales tax permanent. If defeated, Arkansas’s state sales tax rate would drop down to 6% when the existing tax expires.
If approved, the sales tax would generate just under $300 million a year, with the revenue continuing to be split among cities, counties and the Arkansas Department of Transportation. The state would receive 70% of the revenue and cities and counties would receive 15% each for road and bridge work.
For more information about this issue and others, visit uaex.edu/ballot.