Rep. David Ray, R-Maumelle, filed two tax-related bills Thursday that would increase individual taxpayers’ standard deduction and remove a cap on its annual adjustment. 

House Bill 1066 would increase Arkansas’ standard deduction to $4,400 per taxpayer in 2026. The state’s current standard deduction is $2,340, well below the federal standard deduction of $14,600 for individuals or married taxpayers filing separately. 

HB 1065, also known as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2025, would eliminate the 3% cap on adjusting the standard deduction in future years. The annual adjustment is tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics defines as the “average change over time in prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of goods and services.”

Instead of using the CPI for All Urban Consumers to calculate the annual adjustment, the bill calls for referring to the CPI for West South Central division of the South Region published by the U.S. Department of Labor, which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.

Increasing the standard deduction is “a solid move to make” in light of recent inflation and “a really broad-based way to deliver income tax relief to hardworking Arkansas families,” Ray said in an interview Friday.

The federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, passed during President Donald Trump’s first term, included a doubling of the standard deduction, which Ray said was “extremely popular.”

Ray said “one of the biggest lessons” from November’s presidential election, in which Trump won a second term, was that Americans want their elected leaders to reduce the impact of inflation.

“As one state representative out of 100, there’s very little I can do about the wasteful spending we see in Washington D.C. that drives a lot of the inflation, but the one thing I can do is file a bill that makes us adjust our tax brackets to truly account for inflation,” Ray said. 

Arkansas governor signs tax, appropriation bills after special legislative session ends

He also said the legislation will have “literally zero cost” if inflation rates are manageable in 2025, and it “would provide some really robust protections for taxpayers for the next time we get a nasty bout of inflation.”

Tax cuts have been a focus for Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who signed legislation to lower taxes for Arkansans three times over 15 months.

The Legislature approved more than $100 million in tax cuts in April 2023, reducing the top individual tax rate from 4.9% to 4.7% and the top corporate tax rate from 5.3% to 5.1%. During a special session in September 2023, legislators lowered the top individual and top corporate income tax rates to 4.4% and 4.8%, respectively.

The most recent cuts came during June’s special session during which lawmakers approved a bill to lower the top corporate income tax rate from 4.8% to 4.3% and the top individual income tax rate from 4.4% to 3.9%, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2024.

Ray co-sponsored all of those tax-cut bills. In addition to filing HB 1065 and 1066 for the 2025 legislative session that begins on Jan. 13, Ray has also filed HCR1002, a resolution urging the Congress to permanently extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. 

The law made several changes to the individual income tax, including an expanded tax deduction and child tax credit. The individual income tax changes are set to expire at the end of 2025. If made permanent, the income tax provisions would reduce federal revenue by $115 billion to $165 billion annually, according to the Tax Foundation. 

BENTON, Ark. — Arkansas State Police Troopers were honored at the 2024 Officer of the Year Awards luncheon held yesterday at the Benton Events Center. The event, now in its 22nd year, celebrates outstanding law enforcement professionals from across the state.

ASP Corporal Marcus Simpson was named Northeast Regional Officer of the Year, and Trooper First Class Austin Duncan was honored as the Central Regional Officer of the Year.

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The ceremony, hosted by Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, also recognized 31  Troopers from 29 counties with county-level Law Enforcement Officer of the Year awards. This annual event highlights the dedication and exceptional service of Arkansas’ law enforcement officers in safeguarding their communities.

Troopers who received County Law Enforcement Officer of the Year:

Bradley County
Trooper First Class TreVaughn Moore

Chicot County 
Trooper David Menotti Jr.

Clay County 
Trooper Christian Underwood

Columbia County 
Trooper Justin Cherry

Craighead County 
Special Agent Heath Gurley

Crittenden County 
Trooper Dairren Evans
Trooper Dylan Evans
Corporal Billy Martin

Cross County 
Trooper First Class Kristopher McCrea

Dallas County
Trooper Jimmy Plyler Jr.

Franklin County 
Trooper Dalton Lewis

Fulton County
Sergeant Justin Nowlin

Garland County
Trooper Justin Parker

Hempstead County 
Trooper First Class Trevor Dew

Jackson County  |  NORTHEAST REGION WINNER
Corporal Marcus Simpson

Jefferson County 
Trooper James Harrell

Lee County 
Special Agent James Collins

Little River County 
Trooper First Class Ian Nelson

Logan County
Corporal Jed Bolyard

Lonoke County 
Trooper Ana Escamilla

Monroe County 
Trooper Gavin Taylor

Phillips County 
Trooper Dairren Evans

Prairie County
Trooper Rand Lace

Pulaski County
Special Agent Travis May

St. Francis County
Trooper Blake Irvin

Saline County  |  CENTRAL REGION WINNER
Trooper First Class Austin Duncan

Scott County
Trooper Justin Shackleford

Sebastian County 
Trooper Tucker Phelps

Stone County 
Special Agent Drew Widner

Van Buren County 
Special Agent Kevin Brown

Washington County 
Special Agent Heath Gurley

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