LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said Thursday that while running for the Republican nomination for governor, she also will try to put on next year's ballot a proposition to end the state's individual income tax.
Rutledge, who is running against former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders for the GOP nomination, said she'd push to get the proposed constitutional amendment on next year's ballot that would eliminate the tax by 2030.
Rutledge said she would form a separate campaign to gather the 89,151 signatures from registered voters needed to get the proposal on next year's ballot. Rutledge said she would release the text of the proposal later.
"While we have made small steps over the last years, it's time for the people of Arkansas to be heard and to give tax breaks to all hardworking Arkansans," she said.
Rutledge launched her bid for governor last year but has been overshadowed by Sanders' candidacy. Sanders last week announced that she'd raised more than $9 million while Rutledge has raised $1.4 million total. Four Democrats are running for governor.
"As governor Sarah will lower and begin to phase out the state income tax to reward hard working Arkansans, and unleash bold reforms to make our state one of the best places in our country to start and grow a business, creating thousands of new high paying jobs for our people," Sanders' campaign manager, Chris Caldwell, said in a statement.
Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, barred by term limits from seeking reelection, has said he'll call a special session this fall to take up income tax cuts.