Kentucky
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Inaction on Gas Tax Will Drop Rate to Historically Low Levels
March 26, 2015
Good roads are critical to public safety and to Kentucky’s economy, especially in a state so dependent on manufacturing and distribution industries. Funding from the gas tax and other sources also supports over 40,000 jobs. It’s important that the General Assembly recognize the need for a sustainable revenue stream to keep Kentucky’s infrastructure safe and […]
Bloomberg: Will State Legislatures Pass Gas Tax Hikes This Year?
February 11, 2015
However, the kind of funding structure that Maryland put in place has been called good policy by organizations like the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a non-profit, non-partisan research organization in Washington, D.C., because the inflation adjustment allows the revenue’s buying power to keep up with transportation expenses over time. Flat-rate taxes do […]
Floyd County Times: Wealthiest Kentuckians Have Lowest Overall Tax Rate
January 24, 2015
A new study released last week by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy (KCEP) finds that low-income Kentuckians pay 49 percent more in state and local taxes as a share of their incomes than the state’s wealthiest one percent pay. The rate for moderate-income and middle […]
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Kentucky’s Upside Down Tax System Asks the Least of Those at the Top
January 16, 2015
In Kentucky, the wealthiest residents pay the lowest overall state and local tax rate as documented in a new edition of a study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. “Who Pays: A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in 50 States” analyzes all major state and local taxes including personal and corporate income, […]
Middlesboro Daily News: Wealthiest Kentuckians have lowest overall tax rate
January 16, 2015
“A new study released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy (KCEP) finds that low-income Kentuckians pay 49 percent more in state and local taxes as a share of their incomes than the state’s wealthiest one percent pay. The rate for moderate-income and middle class […]
Harlan Daily: Wealthiest Kentuckians have lowest overall tax rate
January 16, 2015
“A new study released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy (KCEP) finds that low-income Kentuckians pay 49 percent more in state and local taxes as a share of their incomes than the state’s wealthiest one percent pay. The rate for moderate-income and middle class […]
The Louisville Courier-Journal: Kentucky facing consequence of gas tax tied to price
January 16, 2015
“Most states — 32 — levy a fixed-rate per-gallon tax no matter what the price of gas, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a tax watchdog group. But 15 states, including Kentucky, gauge it to the price per gallon, which makes it function more like a sales tax. Florida and Massachusetts levy […]
WDRB: Middle-income earners shoulder highest tax burden in Kentucky
January 16, 2015
“Kentucky families earning $30,000 to $50,000 a year pay the highest share of their incomes in state and local taxes — 10.8 percent — while families earning $330,000 or more pay only 6 percent, according to an analysis by two organizations that favor progressive policies. Kentucky’s tax policies are far from the nation’s most “regressive” […]
USA Today: New Year Brings Hundreds of New Laws
January 5, 2015
Drivers in five states could see gasoline prices rise with gas tax increases, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a tax watchdog group. The biggest increase is in Pennsylvania, 9.8 cents, followed by Virginia, 5.1 cents; Maryland, 2.9 cents; North Carolina, 1 cent; and Florida, 0.3 cents. New York, Nebraska, Vermont, West […]
NPR: Gas Tax Hike to Fuel Fixes to Roads and Bridges
December 9, 2014
“There’s kind of been a switch that’s been flipped,” says Carl Davis, a senior analyst with the nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Davis says gas tax increases are now on the table in states across the country, from New Jersey to Utah to South Carolina to South Dakota. Democratic governors in Delaware, Vermont […]
Read the Report in PDF Form The Census Bureau released data in September showing that the share of Americans living in poverty remains high. In 2013, the national poverty rate was 14.5 percent, a slight drop from last years’ rate of 15 percent and the first decline since 2006.1 However, the poverty rate remains 2.0 […]
For much of the last century, estate and inheritance taxes have played an important role in helping states to adequately fund public services in a way that improves the progressivity of state tax systems. While many of the taxes levied by state and local governments fall most heavily on low-income families, only the very wealthy pay estate and inheritance taxes. Recent changes in the federal estate tax, however, culminating in the "fiscal cliff " deal of early 2013, have forced states to reevaluate the structure of their estate and inheritance taxes. Unfortunately, the trend of late has tended toward weakening…
The gasoline tax is the single largest source of funding for transportation infrastructure in the United States, but the tax is on an unsustainable course. Sluggish gas tax revenue growth has put strain on transportation budgets at the federal and state levels, and has led to countless debates around the country about how best to pay for America's infrastructure.
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: State EITC Would Make a Regressive Tax System Fairer
May 22, 2014
Previous posts have described how a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) would help working low-income Kentuckians make ends meet and reach every corner of the state. A state EITC would also make the tax system fairer, as shown in a new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Kentucky’s tax system […]
CorpWatch: Caterpillar Uses Swiss Subsidiary to Avoid Billions in Taxes
April 21, 2014
(Original Post) by Rozali Telbis, CorpWatch Blog April 15th, 2014 Caterpillar equipment. Photo: Kelly Michals. Used under Creative Commons license. Caterpillar – one of the world’s largest maker of construction and mining equipment – used a subsidiary in Switzerland to avoid paying $2.4 billion in taxes over a period of 13 years, according to a […]
The Courier-Journal: Pass tax reform for 21st century Kentucky
April 11, 2014
(Original post) Col Owens, April 11, 2014 The General Assembly has just passed another inadequate state budget. And once again, it has failed to give Kentucky a tax system that will allow it to compete in the 21st century economy. As a legal aid attorney and education advocate for 35 years, I’ve long witnessed firsthand […]
Cincinnati Enquirer: Kentucky’s new budget inadequate for 21st century
April 7, 2014
(Original Post) CIN 12:31 a.m. EDT April 6, 2014 The Kentucky General Assembly has just passed another inadequate state budget. And once again, it has failed to give Kentucky a tax system that will allow it to compete in the 21st-century economy. As a legal aid attorney and education advocate for 35 years, I’ve long […]
KY Forward: Kentucky needs to take its future in its own hands and make tax system fairer
April 4, 2014
Thursday, April 3, 2014 The General Assembly has just passed another inadequate state budget. And once again, it has failed to give Kentucky a tax system that will allow it to compete in the 21st-century economy. As a legal aid attorney and education advocate for 35 years, I’ve long witnessed firsthand how our state budget […]
Accounting Today: Big Corporations Dodge Billions in State Taxes
March 21, 2014
(Original Post) WASHINGTON, D.C. (MARCH 21, 2014) BY MICHAEL COHN Some of the largest and most profitable Fortune 500 companies are paying little or nothing in state income taxes, according to a new study. The study, by the advocacy groups Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, examined 269 Fortune […]
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: While Kentucky’s Budget Faces More Cuts, Profitable Fortune 500 Companies Avoid Paying State Corporate Income Taxes
March 20, 2014
As Kentucky and other states struggle with tough budget decisions about essential public services, profitable Fortune 500 companies including Kentucky-based Yum Brands and Humana pay little to nothing in state corporate income taxes around the country, according to a new study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and Citizens for Tax Justice. Read […]
WFPL: Gov. Steve Beshear’s Tax Plan Fails to Address Inequality, Economic Think Tank Says
February 11, 2014
(Original Post) By JONATHAN MEADOR Credit Rae Hodge/Kentucky Public Radio Steve Beshear Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear’s tax reform plan fails to address issues of fairness in the state’s tax code, says a non-partisan economic think tank. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy doesn’t think the plan’s Earned Income Tax Credit will be enough to […]
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Measuring the Tax Plan Against Key Principles
February 10, 2014
Governor Beshear has released his tax reform proposal, and analysis and debate over the plan has begun. It’s important that this discussion keep in mind three principles that are needed in a tax reform plan in order to move Kentucky forward: First, tax reform should generate significant new revenue now to allow Kentucky to begin […]
Lexington Herald-Leader: Get it right, go big on tax reform
February 10, 2014
(Original Post) February 9, 2014 Lawmakers have plenty of time to dig into tax reform and improve on what Gov. Steve Beshear has proposed. While Beshear is offering some good ideas, his package does too little to broaden the state’s loophole-ridden tax base while carving out even more loopholes. Kentucky already exempts more in taxes […]
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Tax Plan Misses Opportunity to Make Overall Tax System Fairer
February 7, 2014
The combined impact of the tax increases and tax cuts in Governor Beshear’s reform proposal would not help improve the regressive nature of Kentucky’s tax system, according to analysis of the plan released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). The plan would basically maintain the existing distribution of taxes for individuals, […]
The Fiscal Times: The 10 Best States for Taxes in 2014
January 27, 2014
(Original Post) BETH BRAVERMAN The Fiscal Times January 24, 2014 Anyone who has a head start on tax planning this year knows that many Americans – particularly high earners – are paying a lot more in taxes this year. But while there’s no dodging federal taxes, the pinch of additional levies varies greatly depending on […]
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