This bill amends the Arkansas Soft Drink Tax Act to phase out the soft drink tax based on sales tax collections from soft drink sales. It requires the Department of Finance and Administration to certify the amount of sales tax revenues derived from soft drinks within ninety days after the end of each fiscal year. The bill introduces a new section, 26-52-112, which mandates this certification and outlines the process for determining the tax rates based on the certified revenue amounts.

Additionally, the bill modifies the existing tax rates for soft drink syrup, bottled soft drinks, and powdered drink bases, establishing a tiered reduction system that lowers the tax rates as certain revenue thresholds are met. The tax rates will decrease from $1.26 per gallon to zero cents as the certified revenue increases, with specific conditions outlined for each reduction step. Furthermore, the bill includes a provision for the repeal of the Arkansas Soft Drink Tax Act once all taxes have been reduced to zero, ensuring that the act is removed from the Arkansas Code upon completion of this process.

Statutes affected:
Old version HB1636 V2 - 3-11-2025 10:03 AM: 26-57-904(a)
Old version HB1636 V3 - 3-12-2025 11:53 AM: 26-57-904(a)
Old version HB1636 Original - 3-3-2025 08:42 AM: 26-57-904(a)
HB 1636: 26-57-904(a)