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TAXATION AND REVENUE SYSTEMS—ARKANSAS. 
State Revenues. 
A. GENERAL PROPERTY TAXES. 
1. Base— 
a. The property included and exempt.—All property, 
except that legally exempt, whether real or personal; 
all moneys, credits, investments in bonds, stocks, 
joint-stock companies, or otherwise, of persons resid 
ing therein; the property of corporations now existing 
or hereafter created; and property of all banks or 
banking companies now existing or hereafter created, 
and of all bankers and brokers, shall be subject to 
taxation. 
The term “real property and lands” is held to include not only 
the land itself, with all things contained therein, but also all 
buildings, structures, and improvements and other fixtures, and 
all rights and privileges belonging or in any wise appertaining 
thereto; also all trees growing thereon, and all mines, minerals, 
quarries, or fossils thereon or thereunder. 
Mineral rights may be treated separately. 
“Railroad track” is defined as real estate. 
The term “personal property” includes all goods, chattels, 
moneys, and effects; all steamboats navigating waters wholly or 
partly within the state, and all capital belonging to inhabitants of 
the state invested in water craft located without the state; all im 
provements made by others upon lands belonging to the Govern 
ment or any railroad company whose property is not subject to the 
same mode of taxation as other property; all stocks, growing or other 
wise, of nurserymen and florists; all gas, oil, and water mains, pipes, 
conduits and subways wherever located; all tracks, roads and 
bridges of street railways, turnpike and bridge companies; all 
apparatus of telegraph and telephone lines; credits of every kind 
over and above debts owed by the creditor; the income of annuities, 
unless the capital be taxed; investments in stocks, bonds, and se 
curities of every kind; personal property of corporations, whether 
the owners reside in or out of the state; shares of stock in banks; the 
capital stock, undivided profits, and all other means not forming 
part of the capital stock of every company, whether incorporated 
or unincorporated. 
The term “investment in bonds” is held to include all money 
invested in bonds of whatever kind, or certificates of indebtedness 
commonly called “scrip,” whether issued by incorporated or unin 
corporated companies, towns, cities, townships, counties, states, or 
other corporations, provided such bonds are held by persons residing 
in this state, either by themselves or by others for them, whether 
for themselves or as guardians, trustees, or agents. 
The term “investment in stocks” is held to include all moneys 
invested in public stocks of this or any other state, or in any asso 
ciation, corporation, joint-stock company, or otherwise, the stock 
or capital of which is or may be divided into shares, for the taxation 
of which no special provision is made, held by persons residing in 
this state. 
Timber owned separately from the land is classed as personal 
property. 
National bank notes, United States legal tender notes, and all 
other notes and certificates of the United States payable on demand 
and circulating, or intended to circulate, as currency, and gold, 
silver, or other coin, held or owned by any citizen or resident of the 
state of Arkansas are expressly declared to be taxable. 
The term “credit” means the excess of the sum of all legal 
claims and demands due to the person liable to pay taxes thereon 
including deposits in banks when added together, over and above 
the sum of legal bona fide debts owed by such person. 
Pensions received from the United States, or from any state, are 
not held to be annuities. 
For exemptions, see Constitution, Article XVI, sections 5 and 6. 
The statutes add fire apparatus and buildings used exclusively for 
the safekeeping thereof, whether belonging to any town or to any 
fire company organized therein; all property belonging to camp 
meeting associations, Sunday school assemblies, Young Men’s 
Christian Associations, and societies for religious instruction; and 
property belonging to and used exclusively for the purpose of any 
agricultural society or industrial exposition. The statutes also pro 
vide a method of valuing real estate which exempts growing crops. 
b. Assessment.—In general, there is but one assess 
ment and one assessment roll for state, county, and 
municipal taxes. City and town taxes must be levied 
on the appraisement of the county assessor as equalized 
for the levy of state and county taxes. The assess 
ment refers to the 1st day of February and is made 
on the basis of a sworn list submitted by the taxpayer, 
the oath declaring the values entered in the list as 
correct. The taxpayer shall also, if the assessor de 
mand it, fix the value of any timber, mines, fossils, 
quarries, springs, or anything else on the land that 
gives a special value. 
Land and the improvements thereon are separately assessed. 
Property is required to be assessed at its true and full cash value. 
In determining its value the officers shall not adopt a different 
standard of value because the same is to serve as a basis of taxation, 
nor shall the price for which property would sell at forced sale be 
adopted as a criterion of value. 
Real estate is assessed once every two years in the odd numbered 
years. All other assessments are made annually. 
The property of railroad, telegraph, telephone, express, sleeping 
car and pipe line companies, and of every power, heating, electric, 
gas, water, street car, toll road, toll bridge, and similar corporations 
doing business in the state is assessed by the state tax commission. 
All other property is assessed by the county assessor, who is paid 
by fees for the various items of assessment. 
Every person of full age and sound mind is required to list all 
property owned or in his possession on the 1st day of February. 
Property brought into the state after the 1st day of February and 
prior to the 1st day of October of any year is subject to taxation, 
unless the owner can show that the property has been listed for 
taxation for that year in some other place. 
Merchants and manufacturers are assessed upon the average value 
of property in their possession during the year. 
Banks are assessed on the amount of their paid-up capital, undi 
vided profits, term deposits, moneys which during the year were 
converted into nontaxable bonds, and on all fixtures, furniture, and 
other property that has been charged off to profit and loss account. 
The assessment is made against the bank in the aggregate as agent 
for the shareholders. The bank pays the taxes, but it may recover 
from the shareholders the amount of taxes paid, or deduct the 
same from any dividend accruing. All taxes must be paid before 
any shares of stock can be transferred. No deduction is made by 
reason of the fact that any part of the capital of such institutions is 
invested in nontaxable securities, or securities otherwise taxed. 
Every association engaged in insurance business, or in any se 
curity, bonding, or indemnity business, or in any kind of invest 
ment, loan or trust business is assessed for taxation in the same 
manner as banks. 
Sleeping or dining car companies, express companies, and tele 
graph companies are assessed every year by the state tax commission 
on that proportion of their aggregate capital stock, at its market 
value, which the mileage in the state bears to the total mileage. 
The assessment so made is apportioned among the counties on an 
average mileage basis. Office furniture and other real and personal 
property are assessed locally.