Governor Requests Public Service Commission to Pass Benefits of Corporate Tax Cuts on to Arkansas Families Also Praises Walmart for Forwarding Savings on to Associates

By Staff, 01/12/18 10:19 AM

LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Public Service Commission (PSC) should “as expeditiously as possible,” take the necessary steps to pass on the benefits of the recently passed corporate tax cut to Arkansas ratepayers, Governor Asa Hutchinson said today in a letter to PSC Chairman Ted Thomas.

In December, Congress passed and President Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, and energy providers will benefit from the corporate tax cut included in that legislation.

“The purpose of this letter is to request that the Arkansas Public Service Commission, as expeditiously as possible, take whatever steps are necessary to pass the benefit of the corporate tax cut to Arkansas families and businesses in the form of lower utility rates,” wrote Governor Hutchinson.

“Investor-owned utilities have a monopoly, regulated by the Public Service Commission, on providing electricity and natural gas services to Arkansas’s families and businesses. Arkansas law allows utility providers to charge rates that recover the cost of providing utility service plus a rate of return on investment. Federal income taxes paid by the utility are one such cost.”

Governor Hutchinson’s letter to the PSC can be found HERE<https://t.e2ma.net/click/xb3h4c/d0onv1/169ibqb>.

In addition to the letter, Governor Hutchinson released the following statement praising Walmart for its plans to raise its starting wage, offer new employee benefits, and pay bonuses to employees:

“Walmart’s quick reaction to the new law is exactly the response we expected under the tax cut,” the Governor said. “I am proud that Arkansas’s largest corporate citizen is leading the way in putting more money in the pockets of its hard-working employees.”

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