Kentucky
The Courier-Journal: 3 key principles must guide tax code changes
January 22, 2014
Jason Bailey Special to The Courier-Journal Gov. Steve Beshear announced in his State of the Commonwealth Address that he will propose a specific tax reform plan to the General Assembly. His leadership is welcome and is essential to building support for such an important issue. The big question now concerns the specifics of a […]
Lexington Herald Leader: Ky. can’t succeed without tax reform
January 13, 2014
(Original Post) BY JASON BAILEY January 12, 2014 Gov. Steve Beshear announced in his State of the Commonwealth address that he will propose a specific tax reform plan to the General Assembly in the coming weeks. His leadership is welcome and is essential to building support for such an important issue. The big question now […]
The Progressive Pulse: Profiles in tax avoidance – Yum! Brands
December 2, 2013
(Original Post) Post on November 26, 2013 by Allan Freyer When Thanksgiving rolls around, no one wants to watch someone else eat all the turkey and then have to pick up the grocery bill all by themselves. But that’s what’s happening in our nation’s budget debate—highly profitable multinational corporations are using special tax loopholes, credits, […]
Politico: Arthur Laffer is back as GOP tax man
October 15, 2013
By RACHAEL BADE | 10/14/13 11:03 PM EDT Four decades ago at the Washington Hotel, a quirky economist made a pitch on the back of a napkin to Ford administration officials Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld: Cutting taxes would create an economic boom. Back then, many Republicans opposed tax cuts, but that famous “Laffer […]
Gas tax revenues are on an unsustainable course. Over the last five years, Congress has transferred more than $53 billion from the general fund to the transportation fund in order to compensate for lagging gas tax revenues. By 2015, the transportation fund will be insolvent unless an additional $15 billion transfer is made. Larger transfers will be needed in subsequent years.
New Census Bureau data released this month show that the share of Americans living in poverty remains high, despite other signs of economic recovery. The national 2012 poverty rate of 15 percent is essentially unchanged since 2010 , but still 2.5 percentage points higher than pre-recession levels. This means that in 2012, 46.5 million, or about 1 in 6 Americans, lived in poverty.1 The poverty rate in most states also held steady with five states experiencing an increase in either the number or share of residents living in poverty while only two states saw a decline.2
Floyd County Times: Study examines the value of immigration reform
July 18, 2013
Kentucky News Connection BEREA – A new study shows that Kentucky would get a boost in revenue if the state’s estimated 80,000 undocumented immigrants were allowed to work legally. The analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy claims Kentucky could gain more than $23 million a year. Anna Baumann, an analyst with […]
Business First: Immigration reform would add $56M to Kentucky, Indiana coffers
July 12, 2013
(Original Post) Staff Business First A newly released study shows that national and state tax revenues in Kentucky and Indiana would increase by nearly $56 million annually if immigration reform passes. As The Courier-Journal reports, the study by the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that millions of undocumented immigrants who would obtain […]
The Courier-Journal: Immigration reform would net $23M more for Kentucky
July 11, 2013
(Original Post) Jul. 10, 2013 11:48 PM Written by James R. Carroll WASHINGTON — Calling it “flawed” and “rushed,” House Republican leaders Wednesday snubbed sweeping immigration reform legislation, even as a new study showed that state and local tax revenues in Kentucky and Indiana would increase by nearly $56 million annually if reform passed. “House […]
KY Forward: Fifty-state study shows immigration reform would boost Kentucky revenues $23.2 million
July 10, 2013
With fiscal costs and benefits figuring large in the immigration reform debate, a new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) estimates that unauthorized immigrants are already paying $10.6 billion a year in state and local taxes nationwide, including $58.8 million in Kentucky. The study also estimates that Kentucky stands to gain […]
The Philadelphia Inquirer: N.J. highways cost most, study says
July 8, 2013
(Original Post) By Paul Nussbaum, Inquirer Staff Writer POSTED: July 05, 2013 New Jersey’s roads may not be paved with gold, but they certainly are expensive. The state ranks highest in the nation in the cost of maintaining its roads, spending almost twice as much per mile as the number-two state, California, according to a […]
MSN Money: 8 states where the gas tax just went up
July 3, 2013
(Original Post) From Connecticut to Wyoming, lawmakers are turning to these hikes to fund long overdue road and infrastructure projects. By Bruce Kennedy It’s the summer driving season, and while gas prices traditionally rise this time of year, they’ve been falling of late. But July 1 was the start of a new fiscal year for […]
CNN Money: Just in Time for the Holiday, 8 States Raise Gas Taxes
July 2, 2013
(Original Post) POSTED BY RYAN HOLEYWELL | JULY 1, 2013 Drivers hitting the road for the Independence Day holiday will encounter higher gas taxes in eight states, according to data compiled by Citizens For Tax Justice. While the changes could frustrate drivers — if they notice the slight hikes — there’s a silver lining: many […]
Triangle Business Journal: N.C. gas tax rises to 37.6 cents a gallon
July 1, 2013
(Original Post) Jul 1, 2013, 3:57pm EDT Logistics & Transportation Chris Bagley Staff Writer- Triangle Business Journal North Carolina increased its motor fuels tax to its second-highest level in history on Monday. The increase was small, just one-tenth of a cent per gallon, but the 37.6-cents-per-gallon level is second only to the 38.9 cents per […]
WEKU: Report Says Kentucky Tax System Unbalanced On Backs of the Poor
January 30, 2013
(Original Post) 4:51pm Wed January 30, 2013 By Kenny Colston, KPR-Frankfort A new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows a big gap between Kentucky’s income levels on who pays taxes. The report says Kentucky’s top 1 percent income bracket pays roughly 5 percent of the state’s income, while the bottom 20 […]
WFPL: Kentucky Tax System Unbalanced On Backs of the Poor
January 30, 2013
By Kenny Colston A new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows a big gap between Kentucky’s income levels on who pays taxes. The report says Kentucky’s top 1 percent income bracket pays roughly 5 percent of the state’s income, while the bottom 20 percent pays 9 percent. Middle income levels are […]
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Using the Federal Income Tax Cuts to Help Address Kentucky’s Budget Challenge
January 14, 2013
The federal tax compromise passed by Congress in December resulted in extensions to a number of tax changes set to expire and provided a large tax break to the wealthiest Americans. Analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows that the top 5 percent of Kentuckians will receive a tax cut of over […]
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Reforms Needed to Bring Greater Scrutiny to “Tax Expenditures”
January 14, 2013
Every year Kentucky loses billions of dollars in revenue through special tax preferences and breaks for individuals and businesses that are written into the tax code. Yet there is very little understanding or awareness of these provisions, which are known as tax expenditures, and almost no review and assessment of their effectiveness. Tax expenditures receive […]
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Farmer’s High-Risk Overhaul Creates Imbalance in Kentucky’s Tax System
January 14, 2013
House Bill 196, sponsored by Representative Bill Farmer, proposes to overhaul Kentucky’s tax system by eliminating income taxes on individuals and corporations while greatly expanding the sales tax base. The bill is an example of a shift to a consumption-based tax system. Kentucky needs to reform its tax structure, and HB 196 considers ways to […]
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Four Revenue Options that Should Be on the Table
January 14, 2013
The Kentucky legislature is debating ways to address the hole in the state’s Medicaid budget. The options under consideration include immediate across-the-board budget cuts as well as eventual cuts to non-education programs if the governor’s proposed Medicaid savings for 2012 are not achieved. But before enacting painful cuts that are on top of several years […]
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Extending Federal Tax Cuts Would Double the Deficit for the Benefit of the Wealthiest
January 14, 2013
Ten years ago, large federal tax cuts were signed into law by President Bush. Those cuts are now set to expire at the end of 2012. Extending them beyond that date would almost double the size of the federal budget deficit, and in Kentucky close to half of the tax cuts from an extension would […]
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: 2011 Revenue Results a Reminder of Importance of State Income Taxes
January 14, 2013
The $166 million in state revenues above projections for the fiscal year that just ended are helping prevent additional cuts to critical state services. They are also a reminder of the advantages of a broad-based tax system and in particular the importance of Kentucky’s individual and corporate income taxes. Read the Full Report (PDF)
Salt Lake City Weekly: 9 Reasons the Rich Get Richer
January 8, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) A tax expert’s story on tax myths may not be sexy, but it could arouse you—and not in a good way. By David Cay Johnston Posted // April 13,2011 – For three decades, we have conducted a massive economic experiment, testing a theory known as supply-side economics. The theory goes like […]
Lexington Herald-Leader: Coalition of agencies asks for major tax reform
January 4, 2013
(PDF Of Original Post) Posted on Fri, May. 29, 2009 By Beth Musgrave [email protected] FRANKFORT — A coalition of social service and nonprofit groups called on Gov. Steve Beshear Thursday to push for comprehensive tax reform as a long-term fix to the state’s ongoing budget woes. The announcement came on the same day legislative leaders […]
Lexington Herald-Leader: Poor spend larger percentage on taxes
January 4, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) Posted on Thu, Nov. 19, 2009 By Linda B. Blackford [email protected] Low and middle-income Kentuckians pay a larger share of their incomes on state and local taxes than wealthier people do, making the tax system one of many in the country that is inherently unfair, according to a new study. The […]
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