General Assembly’s plan to lower income taxes is working “precisely as intended.”

The Office of State Budget Director notified the General Assembly this week that the criteria to further reduce the state income tax had not been met. Liberal organizations that oppose any effort to reduce the tax burden on Kentuckians are attempting to attach a negative spin to this development.

However, Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, hits the truth in the Herald-Leader’s reporting:

Co-chair of the Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue, Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, said the bill is working “precisely as intended.”

“By December 2024, income tax reductions in 2023 and 2024 will have saved taxpayers $1.8 billion,” McDaniel said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “Naysayers have often criticized comprehensive tax reform and the Kentucky General Assembly’s responsible lowering of working Kentuckians’ income taxes. However, this development is evidence we appropriately weighed the importance of lowering taxes with the need for critical government functions such as education, corrections, and more.”

Even Gov. Andy Beshear, who vetoed HB8 when it was on his desk, is saying (as he fights for re-election) that the legislature established “a responsible method for determining when to take — they’re not incremental steps, they’re real steps — in reducing income tax.”

Beshear’s opponent, Attorney General Daniel Cameron, has made eliminating the state’s income tax a central part of his economic platform.

When asked by the Herald-Leader for comment on the state budget director’s report, Cameron said “(his) bottom line is to get zero as quickly as we possibly can.”

-AM