Last-Minute Tax Giveaways Threaten Budget — and Will Force Kentucky to Pay Back Aid Money to Feds
The final days of the Kentucky General Assembly are a time when last-minute tax breaks are sometimes slid quietly into...
Budget & Tax
Letter to the Kentucky House of Representatives on Raising the Inadequate Tax Rate on HHR Slot Machines
February 10, 2021 Dear Kentucky House of Representatives: As you consider legislation potentially legalizing "Historical Horse Racing" (HHR) slot machines, an important issue concerns the inadequacy of the tax on...
The General Assembly Must Resist an Expensive Double-Dip Tax Break and Instead Provide Targeted Aid to Businesses that Really Need Help
As Kentucky recovers from the pandemic and the resulting recession, it is important for state policymakers to invest in families, communities and businesses that need help to get back on...
Coalition Letter to Kentucky General Assembly: End the Tax Break on Slot Machines
Dear Kentucky Legislators, In September, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously that “historical horse racing” (HHR) slot machines do not meet the legal definition of pari-mutuel wagering, and therefore do...
General Assembly Should Strengthen the Recovery by Approving Much-Needed Relief
The 2021 Kentucky General Assembly will reconvene in early February, and the remaining piece of essential business is agreement on a new state budget. The legislature faces a choice: deploy...
Governor’s Budget Increases Funding for Relief and Reinvestment
Governor Beshear proposed a budget that uses $613 million in extra revenues created because of federal stimulus to provide targeted relief to families and businesses hurting from the pandemic, protect...
Any Action on Proliferating Slot Machines Must Raise Artificially Low Tax Rate
A recent state Supreme Court ruling has threatened the operation of thousands of slot machines across Kentucky because they do not meet the definition of "pari-mutuel wagering” associated with the...
Defeating the Pandemic and Building a Robust Recovery: A Preview of the Budget of the Commonwealth
In the 2021 short legislative session, the Kentucky General Assembly will be tasked with crafting a new state budget for 2022. In addition to protecting Kentucky’s existing critical services, there...
Kentucky Must Remove the Roadblocks to Unemployment Insurance — Our Most Important Economic Stabilizer
The torrent of job losses Kentuckians have experienced because of COVID-19 has thrown an unprecedented number of households into turmoil. As paychecks have disappeared, unemployment insurance has been a critical...
Kentucky’s Inadequate and Outdated Unemployment Insurance Taxes Need to Be Modernized
As unemployment claims surged in Kentucky due to COVID-19 related layoffs, the state’s unemployment insurance (UI) trust fund was quickly exhausted. Kentucky is one of 21 states and territories that...