Presentation: Kentucky’s Budget Outlook
Kentucky lawmakers will begin assembling what Speaker Greg Stumbo recently called a "destructive" two-year state budget when it reconvenes in...
State Tax
State Must Begin Meeting Responsibility to Teachers’ Retirement or Pay More Later
The state has not been making full required contributions to Kentucky teachers' retirement since 2009, and the impact of not making those payments has a compounding effect—meaning more costs for...
Testimony: Local Option Sales Tax
Interim Joint Committee on Local Government Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. My name is Jason Bailey and I am director of the Kentucky Center for...
Presentation: The Coal Severance Tax in Appalachian Kentucky
Diversifying the economy of Appalachian Kentucky will require financial resources to pay for needed new investments. The coal severance tax is one of the largest pools of economic development resources...
Sharp Decline in Coal Severance Tax Revenue Underscores Need for Economic Plan
New data showing that eastern Kentucky lost 4,000 coal jobs last year should raise alarm among public officials about the longstanding need for an economic transition plan. So should the...
Another Corporate Tax Cut Is Not the Answer
A proposal to change the way Kentucky calculates corporate income taxes for big multistate corporations would be a costly experiment that’s just as likely to harm the state’s economy as...
Myths and Facts about an Earned Income Tax Credit in Kentucky
The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is widely known as a highly effective antipoverty program that helps low-income families make ends meet and provides long-term benefits for children. In...
Kentucky’s Income Tax: Protecting and Strengthening a Key to Growth
The individual income tax is the largest, most productive and fairest tool Kentucky has to generate needed revenues. It should be protected and strengthened as part of any tax reform...
Promoting Long-Term Investment in Appalachian Kentucky: A Permanent Coal Severance Tax Fund
Forecasts predict dramatic declines in eastern Kentucky coal production in future years, heightening the need for a strategy to transition the region’s economy. A permanent coal severance tax fund, as...
Tax Expenditures Big Cause of Budget Problems, but Some Legislators Want More
There are three main reasons that the budget the legislature is now considering includes so many cuts. First, the economy is still struggling. Second, federal recovery-related financial assistance to the...