Retirement Income Growing Much Faster than Wages, Spelling Trouble for State Revenues
Kentucky must begin an active search for revenue options to begin fully paying down our pension debt and make public...
Budget & Tax
Road Fund Helped by 2015 Fix but Still Feeling Funding Challenges
Kentucky ended budget year 2015 with a $20 million shortfall in Road Fund receipts, meaning slightly less money has come in than what was budgeted to invest in and maintain...
Year-End Revenues Highlight Importance of Individual Income Tax
Kentucky ended its budget year with General Fund revenues $165.4 million more than anticipated, equaling growth of 5.3 percent from the year before. The individual income tax is the main...
The Safety Net Is Effective at Fighting Poverty in Kentucky, Should Be Protected
More than 800,000 Kentuckians are lifted out of poverty each year by safety net programs including Social Security, SNAP (formerly food stamps) and low-income tax credits for working families according...
Working Family Tax Credits Support Kentucky Moms and Kids
Mother’s Day is a fitting time to celebrate the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), two working family programs that help 296,000 Kentucky mothers make ends...
Visual: Medicaid Expansion Helps, Not Hurts, State Budget
Through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Kentucky expanded Medicaid eligibility to those with incomes up to 138 percent of the poverty line -- or $32,900 for a family of four...
April 15 Isn’t Popular, But Taxes Still Important
Few people like Tax Day. Filling out forms and mailing off checks doesn’t usually inspire reflection on the bigger purpose of taxes. Yet most people can agree on the priorities...
Kentucky a Loser in Proposed Tax Giveaway to Wealthiest
The U. S. House of Representatives is expected to vote this week to repeal the federal estate tax, an idea that would worsen growing inequality and reduce revenue needed for...
How Several Bills Passed This Session Changed the State Budget
The 2015 General Assembly reopened the 2014-2016 budget to appropriate new monies for several initiatives. These were largely paid for — and the state’s rainy day fund was boosted by...
County, Rural Roads Will Lose Millions Without Gas Tax Freeze
The clock is ticking on the 2015 session and legislators have yet to guard Kentucky’s city and county roads and bridges from the consequences of a pending 5.1 cent drop...