Arkansas Blog

No sales tax on my double-stuffed Oreos AND $4.17 off my mortgage payment? Hot damn! 'Bout time ol' Beebe pandered to someone other than lobbyists and homophobes.

Nice gesture but isn't this just buying votes for $50 of public tax money?

Was there any hue and cry for this?

The state gives up $22 million and you get a nice family dinner at Outback Steakhouse.

If you are going to come up with a credit, at least make it another $300 or something that an individual person will really be able to do something with.

I've always wondered why we have a "homestead" tax credit anyway.

It is another one of those deals put in place by the real estate industry to help them sell houses?

It's another way of punishing the poor. If you rent, you don't get the exemption, but if you make enough money to own a house, you do.

the poor people that rent are getting the worse end of the deal by having to help pay for Mr. Chenal's tax credit via the half cent tax Arkansas does have one of the lowest taxes of Real Property in the nation. A few years back when people like Oscar Stilley went on a rampage about property taxes that stupid tax credit was passed

Roland, in many states like Florida it's a way of protecting state residents. In Texas the homestead exemption is 25% of your taxes, meaning those with 2nd homes or vacation homes pay more in taxes. I always thought this was rather fair. Of course, Arkansas wants to encourage tourism and there are only a handful of resort communities here that would be impacted anyway.

Waste of money - the real estate industry is already heavily subsidized by the federal tax code. Who are their policy people over there? all of this wimpy silly stuff?!?! Come out with something bold Beebe!

Pay for it by getting rid of the tax credit for political donations.

Oh, cripe! Increase the homestead tax credit? Not too long after that happened the last time, our local school district went nuts. We were arm-twisted into voting for the highest rate in the county. Why? Our superintendent told us we could either vote for his proposed rate increase or vote it down and the quorum court would have to increase it even more by state mandate. (That was enough right there to make me mad.)
Well, it passed. And how much good did it do? Our district is one of those now in financial distress and the powers that be want us to vote for another increase.
Damn! Don't they teach school administrators about budgeting?
I can't believe it of myself. I'm going to vote against the second school millage increase in a row. Me! Who has always supported the school district's requests! Who berated (silently) the folks who got their children out of school and never voted for another millage increase.
Heck yeah! I'll take the $50. If someone is going to fritter away my money, it might as well be me.

What we really need to do is clean up all the strange things in our tax code and eliminate stupid little credits like this. How about a wholesale tax reduction based upon a simplification?

I plan to vote for Beebe (and not just because he's not A$A)... but of all the things we don't need! I own a fully remodeled 2800sf house in a small AR town... $120,000 mkt value makes it one of the town's highest ...my prop tax bill is exactly $67/yr after homestead exemption.

Cut that miserable amt. by $50?!? I would be embarrassed to even drive by the local school, thinking how little I am doing for one of the town's most essential institutions. I support Beebe but not this idea.

SAU guy,

Exactly. When I moved here from Texas, my property taxes dropped to rock bottom. I couldn't believe it. I have no idea how we expect to fund a good educational system.

SAU guy. Your assessor obviously isn't doing his/her job in keeping assessed value up to date with market value. What county do you live in? Assessment coordination may need to check your counties ratios because there is nowhere in Arkansas that the property tax on a $120,000 house should be only $367 before the credit.

Roland, like most liberals, you are uninformed. This was not a "deal put in place by the real estate industry." In 1999, afer several unsuccessful attempts by citizens to put a repeal of the property tax on the ballot, the legislature referred a constitutional amendment to the people that included the $300 credit, a 5 % and 10% on residential and non-residental property respectively, and a rate freeze for seniors and the disabled.

Martin Kove, rental properties don't get the $300 credit. It only applies to your primary residence.

My old $140,000 house in Little Rock was around $800 a year. In Dallas I had a house that was the same appraised value and my taxes were $3500. Remember though that Arkansas income taxes offset the lower property tax as states with high property tax like TX, TN, and FL have no income tax. The net effect is still higher taxes in AR.

Interested observe @ 10:17:
If only you were correct, but you are not. In fact the $367 tax bill came after I'd remodeled and was done following the current assessment process. You can trust me on this, or not... I went to the courthouse myself, thinking it had to be a low-ball mistake. And my out of state mortgage company insisted on a notarized, certified letter from the Tax Collector before they'd believe it.

WAY TO GO MIKE BEEBE!

Now he's talking! Adding $50 tax break to a older Arkansan's tax bill will be a God - send to many. That's what real Democrats do and how they do it.

Stay strong Beebe - bring out the new chicken in every pot deal while your out there! Continue to do it for the people and not the lobbyists.

fooey.

thought about the upping of the homestead tax credit by $50.00. I think that's a good thing. Then I remembered AR schools are funded out of these reduced property taxes.

Not such a good thing.

How exactly can you compromise between our parents and our kids?