Tom Underwood, Kentucky state director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), said today that the state’s leading small-business association is key-voting HB 2 and HB 374, legislation that would let cities and counties impose an additional 1-percent sales tax.
“This is a ‘key vote’ for NFIB/Kentucky, meaning we are informing legislators that their votes will be monitored and reported back to our members,” Underwood said.
“Our members think this is a terrible way for cities and counties to plug holes in their budgets,” Underwood said.
“The local-option sales tax would apply to gross sales, leases and rental agreements and even utilities and unfairly targets small businesses,” Underwood said. “HB 374 would exempt large manufacturers from the local-option sales tax, but small manufactures would have to pay it.
“That’s grossly unfair and would put small businesses at a real competitive disadvantage,” Underwood said.
“But beyond that, this legislation would create a patchwork of tax rates that’s going to create a lot of expensive paperwork for small businesses, especially those that do business in different jurisdictions,” Underwood said. “Plus, people are going to shop where prices are cheaper, and a higher sales tax could drive customers toward businesses in communities where the sales tax is lower, especially for big-ticket items.
“That’s why our members are calling their local legislators and telling them to vote ‘no’ on HB 2 and HB 374,” Underwood said. “We don’t need legislation that drives up the cost of doing business in Kentucky. We need our representatives to pass legislation that helps small businesses grow and create jobs.
NFIB/Kentucky is the state’s leading small-business association. To learn more, visit www.NFIB.com/KY or follow@NFIB_KY on Twitter.