(Frankfort, Ky.)— The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce today announced support for a process to improve the state’s tax code to encourage business investment and growth. Along with several local chambers from around the state, Kentucky’s largest business advocacy organization expressed support for Senate Bill 1, introduced by Senate President David L. Williams, as a means to make Kentucky’s tax code more attractive for business attraction and retention.
“The majority of past efforts to ‘reform’ the tax code have generally been efforts to raise revenue,” noted Kentucky Chamber President and CEO Dave Adkisson. “Because SB 1 is an effort focused on making Kentucky a better place to do business, we are naturally interested in this competitive review by independent experts.”
In a document delivered to lawmakers, the chambers stressed the need to continue reforming government spending on unsustainable areas of the state budget. Efforts to reform taxes need to be coupled with a continued effort by lawmakers to reform and prioritize spending.
“The Chamber is focused on improving business competitiveness,” said Bryan Sunderland, Vice President of Public Affairs. “Taxes matter to business and impact business decisions every day. We need to identify areas of our tax code that limit investment and job growth, so we can act to correct them. An independent review by tax experts can give legislators the necessary information to take appropriate action.”
Senate Bill 1 cleared the Senate in January. It has been referred to the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee for consideration. If passed into law, the expert panel would work to make recommendations to the 2012 General Assembly.
