Today is Kentuckians for the Commonwealth’s “ECONOMIC JUSTICE LOBBY DAY” in Frankfort. If you’re not headed to the capital to join them (8:30A to 2:30P, details here), you can still help lobby our dear leaders:
Call your legislators
If you can’t come to Frankfort, call the legislative message line (1-800-372-7181) and leave a message for your representative and senator, as well as House Leadership. Here’s a suggested message:
“My name is ____ and I live in _____ County. I want to see a better quality of life in Kentucky, and the time is now for the legislature to make it possible. I urge you to support HB 127, the Kentucky Forward Revenue Plan.”
Or:
Write a letter to the editor
You can also write a letter to the editor of your local paper this week. Here’s one way to think about the story that you want to tell:
- I live in _________ County and I’m _______. [Are you a parent? A student? A teacher? Someone who’s concerned about our water quality? Someone looking for a job?]
- I want to see __________. [Name the good things you want to see in your life and your community…Things that we all want, right?]
- But right now_______. [What’s standing in the way? What do you see instead?]
- That’s why, this session, I’m asking ________[your legislator's name] to support HB 127, the Kentucky Forward Revenue Plan sponsored by Rep. Wayne.
- This bill would raise $330 million a year that we could invest in ______________ [How does this bill work toward your vision?], while making the tax structure fairer by lowering taxes for Kentucky’s low- and middle-income families.
- Kentuckians deserve a better quality of life, and we can get there with HB 127.
You can read the text of the bill here, but you could also peruse KFTC’s quick overview:
What the Kentucky Forward Plan would do:
Restore our estate tax
We want to stop giving tax breaks to those who don’t need them by reinstating the state estate tax. This tax excludes farms, and would only apply to those who have more than $1 million in assets, like trust funds and other inheritances. It’s not fair to give the wealthy yet another tax cut and leave everyone else behind.
Modernize our income tax
Our income tax rates are from the 1950s. This bill would replace our deductions and old rates with a stair-stepped rate structure that modestly increases with income. For the lower-income 60% of us, these changes would, on average, lower our state income tax.
Reform our sales tax
Other states tax luxury services like limo rides, armored car services, and private golf club fees. Kentucky does not tax these services. We can bring our tax structure up-to-date by closing the exemptions for luxury services.
Lower taxes for many working families with a 15% state Earned Income Tax Credit
An EITC for working parents of families earning up to about $40,000 would put more than $100 million a year back into the pockets of those working families.
SHE WON'T GO!
THE DAILY YONDER
