Charted: How much Arkansas makes from vice taxes
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Smoke 'em if you got 'em and drink up if you dare.
Driving the news: About $262 million in taxes were collected on 2023 sales of alcohol and tobacco in Arkansas.
Why it matters: The money is used to fund state government, infrastructure, education, public assistance, corrections, Medicaid and transportation.
Follow the money: Alcohol taxes for the calendar year were $59.5 million, while tobacco taxes were $202.5 million.
- December tax collections for alcohol and tobacco sales added up to $5.7 million and $18.1 million, respectively.
Context: The state has collected more than $4 billion in total taxes during the first seven months of fiscal 2024 — July through January.
The intrigue: Taxes collected on tobacco sales were down nearly $10 million in calendar 2023 from $69.1 million a year earlier.