State NFIB chief bemoans Arkansas’ tax code

Sylvester Smith, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, said he supports a concept to review of Arkansas’ tax policy every two years. He believes Arkansans are “clearly paying too much” in taxes.

But he also said it’s not just elected officials and bureaucrats who protect the status quo in terms of tax policy; some in the business community like their exemptions, and likely would oppose a serious overhaul, Smith said in this interview with Roby Brock.

Smith also suggests members of the Arkansas General Assembly aren’t sensitive to the needs of many small business owners. He said the NFIB was rejected when it recently asked Arkansas Legislators for less than $50,000 to support small business owners forced by new state rules to change point of sale tax collection methods. He said in the past two legislative sessions the tax surplus equaled $1.2 billion, but the small business owners couldn’t get less than $50,000 to help with a state-mandated bookkeeping change.