Tax Reform
Kentucky needs tax reform that is fair,
raises needed revenue, and invests in the
health and well-being of Kentuckians.
At least six rounds of severe budget cuts in recent years have left essential programs and services such as education, environmental protection, health care and many more under-funded and threaten to reverse the progress Kentucky has made in the last two decades. For example, Kentucky nows ranks 50th in the nation in per pupil spending (Governing magazine).
KFTC has worked with our partners in the Kentucky Economic Justice Alliance to document how the governor and General Assembly have failed to make a serious investment in Kentucky's future. KEJA's Raising The Bar: Kentucky's Real Budget Report revealed $1.8 billion in funding shortfalls and the resultant failure of schools and programs to meet minimal acceptable standards.
Rep. Jim Wayne's House Bill 411 was introduced to add fairness to our state tax system and raise nearly $400 million in new revenue to begin addressing these critical needs.
House Bill 411
KFTC's position: FOR
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Summary |
House Bill 411 (Rep. Jim Wayne) addressed the major failure of the tax modernization plan passed in 2005 - Kentucky's ongoing budget crisis and the chronic underfunding of essential programs and services. HB 411 is an attempt to make the system more fair and help low-income working families. HB 411 would raise $200 million in new revenue by: 1) expanding the sales tax to a number of services currently untaxed; 2) creating new individual income tax rates of 7% and 8% for upper incomes; and 3) preserving the estate tax. It also would have established a refundable Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income working families. |
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History |
KFTC members Karen Mattingly and Dana Beasley Brown and Rep. Jim Wayne testified in support of HB 411 on March
7 before the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee. Listen to a public radio report by Tony McVeigh about this hearing. Since this is not a budget year the hearing was for information and discussion alone. However, committee members expressed interest in acting on tax reform in the 2008 General Assembly. |
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Action |
Contact members of the House and Senate Appropriations & Revenue Committee and remind them that Kentucky still needs a budget that is fair, raises needed revenue and invests in the health and well-being of Kentuckians. |
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Click here to download a copy of HB 411. |
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