Tagged: Blue Ribbon Tax Commission

Early last month, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform held its first meeting to begin the process of addressing a long-discussed issue in the Commonwealth.  They’ll wrap up their workshops early next month and begin a series of public meetings around the state with a session in Paducah in late May.  Tax reform is a complex and contentious set of issues, and to get some perspective on how the commission will navigate those issues, I sat down with one of its members, CSI Chairman and former board chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis, John Will

A commission tasked with coming up with elements of a new tax code for Kentucky held its second meeting in Frankfort today.

The group is chaired by Lieutenant Governor Jerry Abramson and is made up of business leaders from across the state.

During the all-afternoon meeting, the group received overviews of the dozen tax commissions that came before the current one.

And while giving the highlights, Greg Harkenrider, an economist in Governor Steve Beshear’s administration, told members that one change won’t cure all ills.

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has appointed a 23-member ‘blue ribbon commission’ to study the state's tax system and propose a reform plan. The commission will be headed by Lt. Governor Jerry Abramson and will review the state's current tax system and make recommendations by November 15th. Beshear says the state needs to ensure it has a tax system that produces adequate revenue to meet Kentuckians’ needs. He also says tax revenue has been growing at a rate of 70 to 75 percent of the economy's growth and state government has cut spending by $1.3 billion.