Ark Side Grocery Shoppers Face New Tax

[bigboyz05]

The new year brought a new tax and a rude awakening to some Arkansas side shoppers. Jan 1st meant the loss of the city's sales tax exemption. A 7% sales tax is now assessed on food and food ingredients. Initially the tax would have been 10%, but a legislative lobby got a 6% grocery tax halved. That 3% coupled with 3% in local taxes and 1% paid in place of state income tax creates the 7% Arkansas side shoppers now pay. While Texarkana, Ark saw it's sales tax go up on groceries the rest of Arkansas saw their sales tax go down. That's because the Arkansas side of town has long been exempt from paying the statewide sales tax to allow it to better compete with the Texas side of town. In Texarkana, Tx shoppers don't pay any tax on groceries.