What Are Taxes For?
Tax Day is an important time for Kentuckians to consider the role of government in our state and nation. Taxes are a critical tool for doing things together that we cannot do alone. With them, we...
View ArticleTax Break Bill a Setback for Revenue System
The General Assembly inserted some last minute tax breaks benefiting powerful interests into House Bill 445—the revenue bill that accompanied the new budget—before passing the bill and adjourning for...
View ArticleNew Budget Will Worsen Kentucky’s College Affordability Problem
The budget passed by the General Assembly on Monday does not contain good news for higher education students in Kentucky. The 1.5 percent cuts to the state’s public universities and community colleges,...
View ArticleGeneral Assembly Passes Budget Containing 14th Round of Cuts Since 2008
The General Assembly has passed an austere budget that includes further cuts, flat-level funding or modest increases to the education, health and safety, human services and other programs that Kentucky...
View ArticleStatement on Budget that Passed the General Assembly
KCEP Director Jason Bailey released the following statement today:“While it is good to see the chambers of the General Assembly come together to pass a budget, the new budget falls short of what it...
View ArticlePre-School Expansion a Notable Part of Budget Agreement
Press reports indicate that the new budget agreement contains an additional $18 million for pre-school in 2016, a 25 percent increase in state funding that would open up public pre-school to 5,125 more...
View ArticleSenate Budget Accepts Affordable Care Act Funds and Draws on Law’s Benefits
Implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in Kentucky passed a hurdle this week when the Senate chose to accept billions of federal dollars in its budget to fund the law’s expansion of health...
View ArticleInfographic: Make Work Pay for Kentucky Families with a State EITC and...
Hundreds of thousands of hardworking Kentuckians in low-wage jobs are struggling to make ends meet. Here are two tools that would give Kentucky families a boost they need: enacting a state Earned...
View ArticleOp-Ed: Budget Options Make Higher Education Harder to Afford for Those Who...
Lack of state revenue is chipping away at the progress Kentucky made in higher education beginning in the 1990s. That trend continues in the new budget being developed. More cuts to community colleges...
View ArticleHow the Senate Budget Differs from the House
The Senate budget puts less money into early childhood and education programs, capital projects and some health programs than the House budget and allocates more money to the state police, university...
View ArticleSeverance Tax Dollars Need Stronger Overall Strategy
The House version of the new state budget takes $20 million of coal severance money the governor’s budget had allocated to region-wide programs and local governments and shifts money to over 400...
View ArticleWhile Kentucky's Budget Faces More Cuts, Profitable Fortune 500 Companies...
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...
View ArticleWhat Revenue Changes Are Moving in the General Assembly
Despite receiving a tax reform proposal from Governor Beshear back in January, there's been little discussion about the need for comprehensive reform in this year's General Assembly. In fact, the state...
View ArticlePrivatization Brings Concerns about Accountability, Quality and Cost
For revenue-strapped state and local governments, contracting with private entities to build or operate public assets like roads and government buildings or provide public services is often proposed as...
View ArticleInfographic: A State Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for Kentucky
The infographic below shows why adopting a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) would be a good move for Kentucky. A state EITC could help more than 400,000 Kentucky families better afford basic...
View ArticleWhere Dollars Moved in House Version of the State Budget
The version of the state budget the House passed today is very similar to what the governor proposed in January. The main changes in budget allocations involve a little more money for a variety of...
View ArticleInteractive Map: How a State Earned Income Tax Credit Would Benefit Each...
A state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in Kentucky would build on the established benefits of the federal EITC, helping working Kentuckians better afford necessities and stimulating local economies....
View ArticleFact Sheet: The Benefits of a State Earned Income Tax Credit by Legislative...
The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has been shown to help working families afford necessities; provide short- and long-term benefits to children; and support local economies. If Kentucky...
View ArticleOp-Ed: Budget's Good News Not Enough for What Ails Kentucky
For a person who is chronically ill, a day of less pain provides welcome comfort but no promise of returning to long-term health. Kentucky finds itself in a similar position when it comes to the new...
View ArticleExpanded Federal Earned Income Tax Credit Would Be Big Benefit to Kentucky...
The President’s budget for 2015 includes several important improvements to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) that, taken together, would help low-wage Kentucky workers and...
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