State Budget Changes in 2023 Session Increase Future Risk
The General Assembly reduced future revenues substantially this session by passing House Bill (HB) 1, a law that will further...
Budget & Tax
Shorting State Workers’ Pay Hurts Us All
Last year, the General Assembly provided the first meaningful raise to workers in state government in 14 years by providing an 8% cost of living adjustment. Though that increase was...
HB 444 Leaves $110 Million On the Table for State Worker Pay
Last year, the General Assembly provided a badly-needed 8% raise for state workers in fiscal year 2023, reversing a 14-year trend of low or no cost-of-living increases. At the same...
‘Transplant’ Bill Would Give Large Windfall to Companies Recruiting Remote Workers
A bill aimed at relocating higher-income remote workers to Kentucky could cost the state up to $200 million and widen inequality without necessarily drawing many people to Kentucky who aren’t...
Cutting Bourbon Industry Taxes Harms the Communities That Sustain It
Kentucky’s bourbon and spirits industry had a banner year in 2022, with announcements of a record $2.1 billion in new investments. According to the Kentucky Distillers Association (KDA), 2.4 million...
Eastern Kentucky Needs Legislature’s Help to Address Post-Flood Housing Crisis
Catastrophic floods wreaked havoc in eastern Kentucky last July, killing 44 people and requiring 1,334 more to be rescued by boat and helicopter. The floods also destroyed or seriously damaged...
Top House Priorities Show Conflict Between Reducing Revenues and Rising Costs
The House's top priority (HB 1) in the 2023 legislative session is a bill to continue reducing the state's income tax, the source of nearly half of state revenue. Lawmakers...
Reducing the Income Tax Will Weaken the Commonwealth
House Bill 1 in the 2022 Kentucky General Assembly is the next step in a legislative effort to phase down and even eliminate Kentucky’s income tax. This policy path is...
Kentucky’s ‘Booming’ Bourbon Industry Doesn’t Need Another Tax Cut
Kentucky’s bourbon and spirits industry had a banner year in 2022, with announcements of over $2.1 billion in new investments and 700 jobs created, both record highs. According to the...
Testimony on House Bill 1: Tax Cuts Benefit the Wealthy at the Expense of Everyone Else
Pam Thomas, Senior Fellow for KyPolicy, delivered the testimony below to the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee on Thursday, January 5. The committee was considering House Bill 1, which would...