Beebe Offers Praise for Carter’s Tax Proposal

Bipartisanship broke out in Little Rock today when Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe offered praise for a proposal from the Republican Chairman of the House Revenue and Taxation Committee.  Rep. Davy Carter is continuing to advance an idea he has been pushing since he became chairman.

“As I said this morning in the Joint Revenue and Tax committee meeting, the membership needs to first answer this question: What is the tax policy of the State of Arkansas? What are we trying to do? A stated tax policy tells the world how the state of Arkansas plans to conduct business, and it arguably keeps everyone pulling in the same direction,” said Carter.

“The upshot on what I want to do between now and the general session is to evaluate the manner in which the state is conducting its business and allocating its resources. To that end, a part of this evaluation will be focused on the numerous tax exemptions currently on the books. Each member needs to understand (1) the original purpose of the exemptions; (2) the stated objectives of each; and (3) whether these objectives have been met,” explained Carter.

After the meeting, I caught up with Gov. Beebe who praised the idea.

“I love Davy Carter’s (proposal,)” said Beebe. “His proposal to look at every aspect of the tax code – good, bad, and indifferent – and look at it in toto is a responsible way to do it. So I am fully supportive of what he is trying to do.”

Beebe said he has visited with Carter about the idea and offered praise not only for Carter’s proposal, but for Carter.

“I really like Davy Carter. He’s thoughtful, knowledgeable, and he looks at everything as a whole,” said Beebe. “I think he has credibility with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle, Democrat and Republican. And I think he is a leader and I think he is somebody that I have confidence in.”

Carter was pleased to have the governor’s support and said he does not see the issue as a partisan one at all.

“It is to everyone’s advantage to know and understand the facts. I have not heard from any member of the General Assembly who has an issue with performing this due diligence. The differences in opinion will come once the data is evaluated and members make proposals going forward,” said Carter.

Carter said the process will be more fully ironed out during the fiscal session, which starts next month, with more detailed meetings taking place during the interim.

Roby Brock attended the Joint Revenue and Taxation Meeting this morning and has a more detailed report here.

“This is just one small piece of analyzing the effectiveness of how we are doing business in the state of Arkansas. Many other members are working on other issues with the same targeted objective,” said Carter.

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