by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)
A day after a Talk Business & Politics report that state finance officials told lawmakers the state could be facing an $800 million clawback provision of federal funds, a new memo seeks to negate that possibility.
Federal officials have outlined guidelines to recoup money sent to the states during the COVID-19 pandemic if those funds were used for tax cut purposes. With Gov. Asa Hutchinson planning an early August special session to accelerate tax cuts, lawmakers have been pressing for more information.
Originally and according to TB&P sources, the Department of Finance and Administration has suggested for months the potential recoupment, or clawback, could be less than $100 million. With a $1.6 billion surplus, the governor and legislators are looking to expedite $500 million in tax cuts by speeding up a reduction in the top tax rate from 5.5% to 4.9%.
