Bevin again promises 'comprehensive' tax reform as he pushes tax break for veterans

Oct. 1--JEFFERSONTOWN -- Flanked by about 30 veterans at a memorial park for their fallen comrades Tuesday morning, Republican Gov. Matt Bevin said Kentucky should not be taxing retirement income for military veterans.

"The small amount of revenue that that generates for the state is not even remotely worth, not even remotely comparable, to the sacrifice that has been made," Bevin, a former Army officer, said to their applause.

Bevin later said he wants to make the tax cut part of a "comprehensive tax reform" package he hopes to present to Kentucky's 2020 General Assembly, which begins in January.

To do that, Bevin must first defeat Andy Beshear, the Democratic nominee for governor and state attorney general, in the Nov. 5 general election.

Bevin said he wants to look at "income taxes, gas taxes, death taxes, local-option sales taxes, taxes of retirement and all these things and more."

Tax reform is "one more can we can't kick down the road," said Bevin.

Throughout his term as governor, Bevin has called for lawmakers to overhaul Kentucky's tax code, but he has found the goal elusive and never took the step of submitting a specific plan for lawmakers to consider.

Earlier this year, he signed a tax cut into law that will cost Kentucky's$11 billion General Fund an estimated $106.6 million a year once fully implemented. The new law cuts taxes for banks, among others. In 2018, he vetoed a tax bill that lowered corporate income taxes and expanded the state's 6 percent sales tax to 17 services, saying the proposal was "not as thoughtful or as comprehensive as it needs to be." Lawmakers later overrode the veto and the changes took effect last year.

State lawmakers face a daunting task of crafting a new two-year budget in the 2020 session as rising expenses for public pensions, schools and jails far outpace revenue growth.

Beshear has proposed raising revenue by expanding gambling, an idea that Bevin opposes and that the Republican-led legislature has repeatedly rejected.

Bevin said Tuesday his proposal to remove the tax from veterans' retirement income would cost the state "a few million dollars." He did not say how he would pay for it.

Boyle County Judge-Executive Howard Hunt III, co-chairman of the newly formed Veterans for Bevin Coalition, said Kentucky has more than 300,000 veterans and about 27,000 of them are retired.

He said tax relief for retired veterans "would be a welcomed gesture for all veterans to be recognized in that way for their service to country."

Beshear's campaign said the Democrat has released comprehensive policy plans to lift up Kentucky veterans by creating good-paying jobs and expanding access to affordable health care. In particular, he has proposed a program to get veterans involved more in agricultural technology and construction jobs.

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