On Tax Day, Let’s Celebrate What We Build Together With Taxes
“Nothing in life is certain except death and taxes.” This common idiom, often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, but with roots...
Budget & Tax
2019 Session Tax Round Up – More Special Interest Tax Cuts Means Less To Invest
The Kentucky General Assembly ended the 2019 session with the passage of a pair of so-called tax "clean up” bills that make Kentucky’s precarious revenue situation worse. The first bill,...
Senate Pension Bill Also Breaks Inviolable Contract
When the governor vetoed House Bill 358, the legislation affecting pension costs for quasi-governmental organizations like community mental health centers and regional universities, his primary stated objection was that it...
Pension Bill for Quasis Jeopardizes Workers and Retirees, Increases State Costs Without Way to Pay
The pension bill that passed the General Assembly last week, House Bill 358, reduces retirement security for future employees and jeopardizes pensions for thousands of current workers and retirees at...
Bank Tax Break Passed This Session Was Not What Proponents Claimed
One of the surprise provisions included in HB 354 - the tax clean-up bill that morphed into a tax giveaway bill – is a $56 million tax cut for banks....
Letter to Legislators: Quasis Need True Relief
Dear Representative/Senator, As you consider how to provide needed relief for quasi-governmental agencies facing substantial pension increases, it is important to do so in ways that do not break legal...
Watch Out for Attack on Pensions on Session’s Final Day
The General Assembly adjourned for the veto period without providing relief from soon-to-spike pension costs to quasi-governmental organizations like regional universities and community mental health centers. The legislature can still...
Breaking Inviolable Contract for Quasi-Governmental Employees Would Result in Massive Loss of Benefits
Pension proposals for quasi-governmental organizations that attempt to break the inviolable contract for current employees will result in a huge loss of retirement income for those affected, with career employees...
Troubling Cost, Content and Process of 2019 Tax Bill
This week, the General Assembly passed HB 354 - which started out as a bill to address unintended consequences and administrative issues with last year’s hastily passed tax bill, but...
Conference Committee Agrees to Substantial New Tax Breaks in the “Tax Clean-Up Bill” – Digging Our Revenue Hole Even Deeper
The 2019 short session is in its final days and House Bill 354 (HB 354) - the “tax clean-up” bill, the original purpose of which was specifically to address unintended...