Arkansas Enterprise Zone Act

Arkansas Enterprise Zone Act (Advantage Arkansas or AEZA) is a 1993 law that establishes tax incentives for Arkansas communities that are experiencing elevated levels of poverty or unemployment. The implementation and operation of the law falls under the control of the Arkansas Department of Economic Development. The law is codified under § 15-4-1701 and § 15-4-1703 of the Arkansas Code. According to the law "any legitimate business enterprise" can apply for sale-and-use tax refunds if they meet one of nine requirements in § 15-4-1704(b) of the Arkansas Code.

The Clinton Foundation applied for tax breaks under the Arkansas Enterprise Zone Act in 2002, but found its application for $2-3 million in incentives initially denied by the Arkansas Department of Economic Development because the Clinton Library was a nonprofit entity. The money requested involved tax reimbursements for Library construction material. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Willard Proctor Jr. reversed the decision of the ADED in 2004.

Larry Walther and the ADED appealed Proctor's decision to the Supreme Court of Arkansas. On October 27, 2005, the Supreme Court affirmed the Circuit Court's decision. Despite its status as a nonprofit entity, wrote associate justice Jim Gunter in the court opinion, the Clinton Foundation qualified as a legitimate business enterprise under Advantage Arkansas.

References

Rob Moritz, "Clinton Library's Economic Benefits Exceed Tax Break, Rutherford Says," Arkansas News Bureau, Oct 7, 2005.

External links

Supreme Court of Arkansas decision in ADED v. Clinton Foundation