Kentucky Governor Beshear Cites Tax Foundation in State of the Commonwealth Address

Excerpt from text of Gov. Steven L. Beshear's (D) 2012 state of the commonwealth address:

But I believe that if we all sit down and negotiate in good faith ...if we avoid making public comments that box people in or draw lines in the sand ... and if we keep uppermost in our minds that the people of Kentucky have repeatedly made clear that they want to vote on this issue - then we can come up with language that can pass both chambers without amendments.

Expanded gaming is not an end unto itself.

It's a mechanism that will keep significant money in our state that we're now sending
elsewhere, money we can use to protect and invest in our priorities, like education, job creation  ... and yes, our horse industry.

So tonight I reiterate: It's time to let Kentuckians decide the future of gaming in our state.

The second thing we need to do is to reform our state tax code.

Kentucky's system of taxation served us well during the recession.

In fact, the national Tax Foundation says Kentucky has the 19th best business tax climate in the country - better than neighboring states like Illinois, Ohio, West Virginia and Tennessee.

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