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...
Budget & Tax
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...
Regressive Kentucky Laws Are Bringing Back the Bad Old Days
Addressing the long list of pressing modern challenges facing Kentucky requires a unified effort from all of us. How will we create good jobs in a globalized economy, stem climate...
Mirage of Inflation-Driven Surpluses Is No Basis for Permanent Tax Cuts
Kentucky is experiencing record revenue surpluses due to high inflation and temporary federal stimulus that spurred a faster-than-expected recovery from the pandemic recession. But under House Bill (HB) 8, lawmakers are...
More Disasters Are Coming. Kentucky Must Be Prepared
The last couple of years have marked a chaotic time in Kentucky with our communities rocked by a pandemic, recession, tornadoes and floods. The turmoil that our more vulnerable neighbors...
With Mounting Needs and Fear of Recession, State Should Suspend Tax Cuts
After many years of tight state budgets, Kentucky is now experiencing healthy but temporary revenue surpluses that are growing its rainy day fund, the state’s emergency savings account, to an...
Flood Relief Legislation Only a First Step, Leaves Out Housing Aid
A relief package introduced in the special legislative session includes over $200 million to help with emergency costs for local governments, schools, utilities, infrastructure and other needs in the wake...