LITTLE ROCK, AR— Arkansas Secretary of State Charlie Daniels today reminded Arkansas businesses that annual reports and franchise taxes are due by midnight on Monday, May 3 to the Secretary of State’s Business and Commercial Services (BCS) Division.
Every incorporated business, whether domestic or foreign, pays an annual fee to do business in Arkansas. Earlier this year, the state’s approximately 112,000 corporations were notified via mail or online about the upcoming deadline. The taxes are payable between January and May 1 annually. (Since this year’s deadline falls on a weekend, the deadline is extended to the next business day.) Around eighty percent of the state’s corporations pay the minimum franchise tax rate of $150.
These corporate taxes generated $18.5 million in 2005, $19.6 million in 2006, $20.5 million in 2007, $20.7 million in 2008, and $22.3 million in 2009. Act 94 of the Second Extraordinary Session of 2003 increased franchise tax rates and required all funds collected over $8 million to be deposited into an Educational Adequacy Trust Fund.
Corporations have the option of filing their franchise taxes online, 24 hours a day, by visiting the Secretary of State’s website at www.sos.ar.gov. The easy-to-use system provides automatic calculations to eliminate math errors that can slow down processing time. The system generates e-mail confirmations and copies of each completed filing. Credit cards and electronic checks are accepted.
Corporations can also pay in person at BCS located in the Victory Building in Little Rock at 1401 W. Capitol, Suite 250, or by mailing their tax forms to the following address: P.O. Box 8014, Little Rock, AR 72203-8014. BCS is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday. For additional information, call BCS at (888) 233-0325.
