Several Arkansas gubernatorial candidates on Thursday disagreed about the merits of completely eliminating the state's individual income tax.
During a debate sponsored by the Arkansas Press Association in Little Rock, Republican Doc Washburn of Little Rock said he wants to ax the state's individual income tax, and four Democratic candidates stopped short of embracing eliminating that tax.
Libertarian candidate Ricky Dale Harrington Jr. of Pine Bluff said his philosophy favors axing the state's individual income tax.
A few of the candidates repeatedly referred to Republican candidate Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Little Rock's not participating in the debate. Democratic candidate Anthony Bland of Little Rock didn't participate either.
Washburn said he would be happy to debate Sanders, but that she has many questions to answer.
Sanders is a former White House press secretary for President Donald Trump and the daughter of former Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee. Sanders' campaign fundraising haul and campaign spending have dwarfed those of the other candidates for governor in this year's election.
Afterward, Bland said in a written statement that "I work Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for the Little Rock School District and I can not take sick leave to be at a political event."
Sanders campaign manager Chris Caldwell had no comment on Thursday night when asked about Sanders not participating in Thursday's debate.
The primary election is on May 24. If none of the five Democratic candidates for governor win a majority of the votes, the two top vote-getters will advance to the June 21 runoff to select the party's nominee for the Nov. 8 general election.
Washburn, a podcaster, said he wants to drastically cut the size and scope of state government and "get rid of the individual income as quickly as possible."
"We don't have a revenue problem," he said. "We have a spending problem."
Washburn said he would cut the budgets of each department in state government by 10%, impose a statewide government hiring freeze and seek an independent audit of each state department for waste, fraud and abuse.
In fiscal 2023 that starts July 1, the state Department of Finance and Administration projects the state's individual income taxes will comprise $3.48 billion of the state's total general revenues of $7.53 billion. The department also forecasts $2.97 billion in sales and use tax collections and $485.1 million in corporate income tax collections in fiscal 2023.
The Finance Department estimates net general revenues available for distribution in fiscal 2023 at $6.21 billion, with a general revenue budget for state-supported programs at $6.02 billion and a general revenue surplus of $194 million.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate James "Rus" Russell III, a Little Rock businessman, said he opposes eliminating the state's individual income tax. Instead, he wants to ensure taxpayers get their money's worth.
Democrat Supha Xayprasith-Mays, a Little Rock businesswoman, said she opposes axing the state's individual income tax because "there are consequences to that."
The state's tax collections pay for many needed services for Arkansans, including the elderly and the poor, she said.
Democrat Chris Jones of Little Rock said he supports the idea of cutting taxes, "but you have to make the math work, and as a mathematician, I realize you have to make the math work."
The Arkansas Constitution requires the state to have a balanced budget, said Jones, the former executive director of the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub.
"The question I think we should be asking is: If we do that, what are you going to cut?" he said.
Jones questioned whether the state should cut support for programs supporting law enforcement officers, public schools and health care in rural areas to help pay for eliminating the state's individual income tax.
He said he wants to be a governor who attracts businesses to the state, and that requires a good quality of life
Jones said there are ways to ease the pain, particularly in times of high inflation, on consumers, such as cutting the state's sales tax on groceries and the state's sales tax.
"But you have to make the math work," he said.
The state's sales tax on groceries is currently .0125 %, levied under the Arkansas Constitution for conservation.
Harrington and Washburn said the state should eliminate the grocery tax.
Democratic candidate Jay Martin of North Little Rock, an attorney who is a former state representative, said he is not philosophically opposed to tax cuts and he supports targeted tax relief for small businesses and family farms.
He questioned what would be cut to pay for axing the state individual income tax.
"We have to responsible when we talk about tax cut, more than just being rhetoric," he said.
Harrington said he philosophically favors repealing the state income tax.
"If we do that, we have to have a clear plan on how we execute repealing the state tax," he said.
The income tax supports many programs for the needy who can't support themselves, and he doesn't support pulling the rug from under these people, Harrington said. He said he wants to make sure the state responsibly spends tax dollars.
When she filed to run for governor on Feb. 22, Sanders said she wanted to continue working on gradually phasing out the state's income tax if elected governor.
"I think the progress we've made phasing out the income tax is great," she told reporters at that time. "We have to do it responsibly, and we have to do it slowly. It's not going to be an overnight process, but there are a number of things we're going to have to do, starting with cutting the size of government."
At that point, Sanders declined to specify a timeline for phasing out the income tax.
In August of 2021, Bland, Jones and Russell said they oppose a proposed constitutional amendment that would eliminate the state's individual income tax that then-Republican-gubernatorial candidate Leslie Rutledge vowed in 2021 to try to qualify for the 2022 general election ballot.
In November, Rutledge switched from running for governor to running for lieutenant governor. She hasn't filed a proposed constitutional amendment with the secretary of state's office nor has she announced plans to ditch the idea.