Arkansas sees revenue collections tick up

The state's general revenue in December hit $773.2 million, up 7.4% or $53.6 million from December 2021.

• The numbers come from the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.

Why it matters: The money is used to pay for state government, infrastructure, education, public assistance, corrections, Medicaid and transportation.

By the numbers: Better-than-projected tax collections largely drove the December increase.

• Finance Department Secretary Larry Walther told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that income tax payments reflecting tax year 2022 liabilities pushed the forecast for corporate and individual income tax categories.
• Individual taxes were $288.9 million for the month, up 5.3% year over year.
• Corporate tax collections were $151.5 million, up nearly 11% from the previous December.

Context: In August, Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a law to reduce individual income tax to 4.9%, the lowest in state history. The reduction was retroactive to Jan. 1, 2022.

• The top corporate tax rate fell to 5.3% from 5.9% on Jan. 1.