New polling by Talk Business and Hendrix College indicates coolness to taxes for highway work among Arkansas voters.

On July 19, the robopoll questioned 585 voters on a proposed initiated act to raise the severance tax on natural gas, with proceeds to go to state, city and county road work and also on a legislatively referred constitutional amendment that would raise the state sales tax by a half-cent to support a bond issue to build four-lane roads.

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Voters were cool to both ideas, particularly to the severance tax increase, which won’t make the ballot anyway. A petition drive fell far short of gathering sufficient signatures. On the severance tax, the poll said: 33 percent yes; 54.5 percent no, and 12.5 percent don’t know.

On the sales tax, the poll said: 42 percent yes; 49 percent no, and 8.5 percent don’t know.

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The results mirrored March polling. Demographic notes: men and Democrats tended to be more favorable to the ideas.

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