The Arkansas legislature has made several substantial changes to the state tax laws, some of which go into effect on March 1st. The first of these changes is the increase of the Arkansas Sales and Use Tax rate. Effective March 1, 2004, the state rate will go from 5.125% to 6.00%. Also, several new changes will be effective July 1, 2004. The first of these changes is the taxability of services, including some initial installation services. You can find a listing of the services which will be affected by clicking on the hyperlink provided below. Secondly, the Arkansas Wholesale Vending Tax will be increasing to 7%. Finally, businesses that fall behind on reporting or paying by two months will receive notice that their account is not current. If the business does not come into compliance or does not make arrangements to get current with the state before the third month, the Department will be authorized to shut down the business and post signs stating why the business was closed. Businesses which fall into this category will not be allowed to reopen until some type of arrangement has been satisfactorily completed. For a listing of services which will be subject to Arkansas Sales Tax and more details see:http://www.arkansas.gov/dfa/taxes/salestax/notices/whatsnew2004.html (What’s New in Sales Tax for 2004, Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, February 9, 2004)