Senate Revenue & Tax Committee advances firefighter fund, marketplace seller rules; several tax bills fail or are deferred

The Senate Revenue & Tax Committee met and took action on a range of tax and revenue measures, passing a pair of bills and defeating several others after sponsor presentations and DFA testimony.

The committee approved Senate Bill 5-85, a measure to create a charitable-style fund administered by the state insurance department to benefit firefighters battling cancer. Senator Disbane said the bill (as amended earlier) removes provisions that would have required new state credits and instead simply creates the mechanism for a fund to be built through contributions; the committee adopted the motion to pass by voice vote.

That was followed by passage of Senate Bill 6-28, which the sponsor described as a clarification for marketplace sellers of accommodation services. The measure aims to remove ambiguity about how online platforms remit sales taxes for short-term lodging and related services; after questions about prior fixes the committee approved the bill by voice vote.

On more contested measures, Senate Bill 3-89 — a proposal to exempt coins, currency and precious-metals bullion from sales tax — drew a dispute over revenues. Senator Johnson argued Arkansas is at a competitive disadvantage without the exemption and said businesses…