Arkansas begins new fiscal year with a 4.3% dip in tax revenue

Arkansas tax revenue began the new fiscal year (July 2024-June 2025) with $614 million, down 4.3% compared with July 2023, and 0.3% above the budget forecast, according to a report posted Friday (Aug. 2) by the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA).

Income tax revenue in July was $247.4 million, down 10.4% compared with the same period in 2023, and 0.3% above the forecast.

“Individual Withholding Tax revenue decreased by $23.6 million, reflecting the negative effects of a payday timing factors and anticipated effects of the recent tax cuts,” the DFA noted in the report.

Sales tax revenue in July was $290.1 million, up 2.8% compared with the same period in 2023 and 0.1% above the budget forecast. Corporate income tax revenue was $23 million in July, down $8.3 million from the same period in 2023, and down $3.3 million from the budget forecast.

Total revenue in the previous fiscal year (July 2023-June 2024) was $8.708 billion, down 1.6% compared with the previous fiscal year and down 0.2% from the forecast.

Arkansas ended the previous fiscal year with a $698.4 million tax revenue surplus. The state ended the fiscal year before that with a $1.161 billion tax revenue surplus. The surplus of $1.161 billion was the third consecutive year of a surplus of near or more than $1 billion. Total tax revenue in fiscal year 2022 (July 2021-June 2022) was $8.773 billion, up 8% – or $651.2 million – and the budget surplus was $1.628 billion. The surplus in the fiscal year that ended June 2021 was $945.7 million.

OTHER TAX REVENUE
Tobacco
July 2023-June 2024: $17.1 million
July 2022-June 2023: $16.9 million

Alcoholic beverages
July 2023-June 2024: $7.5 million
July 2022-June 2023: $7.5 million

Games of skill
July 2023-June 2024: $6.3 million
July 2022-June 2023: $5.9million