Yes, the Sun rises in the East. According to a study by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington D.C. and reported in the Lexington Herald-Leader, the latest tax bill passed by the Republican General Assembly will raise taxes on 95% of Kentuckians.
According to the study, the top 1 percent of Kentuckians will see an average tax cut of $7,086 from the plan. People who make between $175,000 and $427,000 a year are likely to see an average tax cut of $776. Anyone who makes below $175,000 is likely to see a tax increase of $93 to $213.
The bulk of the tax increases comes from applying the state sales tax to other business services.
This was to be expected. Republicans are claiming that they are making taxes “fairer” and more “equitable.” And, as always, a corporate tax cut ALWAYS makes the state more attractive to businesses.
Yeah, I know: KANSAS.
In the past, raising the state sales tax was a political killer. The first Republican governor since the Civil War, Louie Nunn, vowed he would never raise the state sales tax when he won in 1967. He broke that promise, and no Republican become governor for over 30 years.
It should be a political killer today, BUT Kentuckians have embraced cultural conservatism over their economic interests for many decades now. As national Democrats embraced civil rights and diversity, Kentuckians moved right. President Obama drove conservative Kentuckians crazy, and state Democrats would always be running away from him. This situation and defeatist political strategy by Democrats lead to the election of Bevin as governor.
Now, however, with Mr. Make America Great Again in the White House and Republicans firmly in control of the state, will Kentucky voters reward Republicans for raising their taxes in the 2018 Election?