Baxter County Friends of the Taxpayers

Note:

If you arrived at this page by way of the "PromoteSearcy.com" website, please be aware that the Baxter County Friends of the Taxpayers DO NOT support the Searcy Advertising & Promotion Tax, in any way, shape or form.

In 2005, we organized the first referendum election on an A&P Tax in the state of Arkansas, and defeated that tax at the polls by a margin of 8 to 1.

The fact that there are 36 cities (as of 2007) on the list below is NOT a good thing. It means that 36 city councils simply imposed the tax without getting approval from their voters to do so.

Unfortunately, state law allows them to do just that -- the A&P Tax is the ONE & ONLY sales tax in Arkansas that does not have to be approved at the ballot box before it can be collected. The ONLY recourse people have against this tax is to wage battle against the city through the referendum (or in some cases, legal) process. This legislation is flawed, and BCFT will make another attempt to amend it in the 2011 legislative session. The amendment would require that a city council's decision to implement an A&P Tax be ratified by voters at the next general election. This would still allow cities or counties to implement the tax, but ONLY if their constitutents agree.

Ideally, such a tax would also have a "sunset clause," a restriction on the length of time for which the tax can be collected. The way the tax is handled, though, is that once it's in place, it's there forever. Hot Springs has had its A&P Tax since 1965, despite numerous challenges and lawsuits filed by citizens there. In 2006, a group of citizens in Eureka Springs was able to collect enough signatures to place their 34-year-old A&P Tax on the November ballot, hoping to have it overturned by the voters. However, Eureka's voters decided to keep the A&P Tax ... many comments in their local newspaper, though, indicated that they also wanted more efficient (and accountable) use made of the money the tax generates.

There are many other reasons that BCFT opposes the A&P Tax, one of which is that there are already 3 long-established levels of advertising and promotion agencies in place (two of which are taxpayer-funded):

• AR Department of Parks and Tourism (ADPT), which is funded by a 2% sales tax on tourist-related goods and services that went into effect in 1989 (Act 38). According to its own mission statement, the ADPT exists "to enrich the quality of life and improve the economy of Arkansas by generating travel and enhancing the image of the state."

• Greers Ferry Lake/Little Red River Association, one of the ADPT's 12 "regional tourism associations," all of which are funded, at least in part, by the ADPT. All are eligible for matching grant funds for projects, shows, travel, etc. Each RTA has its own A&P Committee, which includes 1 member from each county in the region.

• Searcy Chamber of Commerce, whose funding comes primarily from membership dues and private sources.

All of these organizations have excellent promotional packages available free of charge, for the asking -- just by making a toll-free telephone call or visiting one of their web sites.

More A&P Tax info

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