A lawmaker's New Year's Eve

I'm sure you can conjure up all sorts of images by that title, but this'll be a pretty tame although interesting project tonight. The largest sales tax increase in Texarkana since the sales tax was implemented will take place at midnight tonight due to the effect of the 2003 Streamlined Sales Tax Act (kinda ironic that it occurs alongside the largest tax cut in Arkansas history). I'm going to head over to Albertson's about 11:30 p.m. and purchase groceries before midnight. I'll then purchase an identical set of groceries at the same store shortly after midnight to gauge the difference (and more importantly, to gauge the likely damage to Arkansas-side grocers while many residents drive across State Line Avenue, where groceries remain tax free).

The Gazette sent out a blistering editorial yesterday. I wasn't named, nor was I even in the Legislature when this thing was enacted in 2003, but similar articles and editorials have generated some pretty tough mail and phone calls in the past few weeks. Hopefully, we'll be able to weather this storm. In the meantime, I'm hopeful that (a) we can either repeal the other half of the grocery tax in the next legislative session and/or (b) revisit whether membership in the streamlined sales tax compact is worth the price all retailers in the state have to pay, even though the benefits are almost non-existent because of federal law.