Record Surplus

Largest Budget Surplus in Arkansas History Underscores Wisdom of  Belt-Tightening, Governor Hutchinson Says

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas’s net revenue for May was $263 million more than projected and $980 million more than projected for the first eleven months of Fiscal Year 2021. May’s gross revenue was $328 million higher than forecast, and the year-to-date gross was $1.04 billion more than projected.

“The $980 million current surplus is the largest surplus in the history of Arkansas,” Governor Asa Hutchinson said today. “This fact underscores the importance of the belt-tightening decisions we made during the pandemic and the strength of our economic recovery. The record surplus also tells us that this fall will be the right time to cut our individual income tax rate again. This surplus has been created despite reducing our tax rate this year to 5.9%.  This shows we can fund education, raise teacher pay and protect public safety at the same time we are lowering our tax rate. It is all because our private sector continues to grow."