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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Taxes Taxes on Senate agenda today UPDATE

Posted by Max Brantley on Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 1:58 PM

Tax breaks are on the Senate agenda today — to exempt more from the used car sales tax, to give a huger-than-dreamed tax break on manufacturers' gas and electric bills and to reduce the sales tax on groceries a half-cent.

I'm surprised by how little attention is given to the Senate giveaway to electric utilties. The enormous windfall of a removal of the sales tax on gas used in generating power won't create a single job in Arkansas or spur a single dollar of investment here, but it will make the generation of merchant power still more profitable (and much of the power will go out of state). And the profits will go mostly to out-of-state owners. Crazy. It is particularly crazy because the added cost of that giveaway might make unaffordable a pending proposal to increase the income tax exemption for working single moms.

Increasing profits for the owners of a gas-fired power plant vs improving the life of a working mother? Easy choice for the Arkansas legislature.

The House opened the day by defeating the House bill to require backseat passengers to wear a seatbelt.

UPDATE: Senate approves all three tax breaks: on manufacturers' utilities (again, no, not your utilities); used cars and groceries. Now who blinks, House or Senate? I don't think Senate will pass Rep. Ed Garner's doodoo economics capital gains tax exemption. But the House, in retribution, might reject Sen. Gilbert Baker's used car tax reduction. Or maybe the House will deal a new tax-cut card.

NOTED: These senators didn't support the big giveaway on gas bills for manufacturers: (VOTING NO) Crumbly, Elliott, Hendren, D. Johnson, Laverty, Madison, Salmon, Whitaker and D. Wyatt. (NOT VOTING) G. Jeffress, Luker and P. Malone.

Hold your applause on Hendren. He wanted an even bigger exclusion for chicken growers.

Tags: tax cuts, seat belts, Arkansas legislature

        
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More by Max Brantley

Coalition wants formal disavowal of Tech Park use of neighborhood

The We Shall Not Be Moved Coalition, formed to oppose location of the proposed Little Rock Technology Park in residential neighborhoods north of UALR, has written Mayor Mark Stodola to praise him for asking for a halt to Tech Park development until the board of the city-financed agency can figure out exactly what it thinks a tech park is supposed to be.
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Super Saturday

Nice day. Anything else to say about it?
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Arkansas Blog

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Taxes Taxes on Senate agenda today UPDATE

Posted by Max Brantley on Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 1:58 PM

Speaking of...

Crazy Davy Carter, the House speaker who is a potential Republican candidate for governor, won headlines all over today for remarks at a legislative conference in Hot Springs that Republicans need to move beyond guns and abortion to focus on issues more important to average Arkies. /more/

The media's rapture with House Speaker Davy Carter continues. Latest is a gushing profile of Carter at the top of Talk Business' 10 Best Legislators list. /more/

Interesting story from Texas on the Texas legislature. Republicans, who control nearly everything in Texas, apparently suffered huge blowback from their war on women in the last legislative session that cut health care to women in the battle to destroy Planned Parenthood. /more/

Ernie Dumas writes this week that the 2013 legislature's approval of Obamacare, against long odds, made up for a multitude of sins. /more/

At 9:17 a.m., the House adjourned until a formal close May 17. The Senate should follow in short order, if it hasn't already. /more/

It's all over but the gold-counting for the Arkansas legislature's orgy of tax cuts for the rich and businesses. /more/

Gov. Mike Beebe said today that he'd sign a raft of tax cut bills — heavily tilted toward the wealthy — that could reduce state income by $140 million or more in three years. /more/

If the Republican-majority Senate follows the Republican-majority House in expanding the Obamacare financed expansion of Medicaid today (I think they will), doors open on tax cuts for the well-to-do. /more/

Comments (8)

More by Max Brantley

Nice day. Anything else to say about it?

Event Calendar

Re: Tony Orlando and Yakov Smirnoff endorse Dennis Milligan for state treasurer

Re: Gun control group to spend against Pryor

Re: Republicans against healthcare expansion now worried about outcome if expansion doesn't happen

Here's a valuable piece of writing for Science Progress from the classrooms of the University of Arkansas by Dr. Lisa Corrigan, co-chair of the gender studies program of the Fulbright College.

The House and Senate Public Health committees met today to hear updates on the “private option” plan for expanding healthcare coverage.

At the joint committee hearing on the "private option" plan for healthcare expansion, Rep. David Meeks asked about Plan B. "Are we anticipating what we would do if something happens and we don’t get the private option?"

The Little Rock metropolitan area (which includes Conway, Sen. Rapert) is a place with a rich and deep religious tradition.

Politico reports that the gun control group backed by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is following through with plans to buy TV time — $350,000 worth — criticizing U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor for helping defeat some modest gun measures recently, particularly universal background checks.

Public for the first time, the woman who married Damien Echols discusses their relationship

For the vegetarian banh mi sandwich.

Our news partner Channel 4 has a news story that deserves repetition in full. More national headlines for the small people of Arkansas should follow directly.

Perhaps U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin might want to reconsider his earlier decision not to include Republican Rep. Loy Mauch on the list of Republican candidates he'd asked not to use his campaign contributions, having read some of what they'd written.