State and Local Sales Tax Rates, 2023
While many factors influence business location and investment decisions, sales taxes are something within policymakers’ control that can have immediate impacts.
11 min readHow does Kentucky’s tax code compare? Kentucky has a flat 4.50 percent individual income tax rate. There are also jurisdictions that collect local income taxes. Kentucky has a 5.00 percent corporate income tax rate. Kentucky has a 6.00 percent state sales tax rate and does not levy any local sales taxes. Kentucky’s tax system ranks 18th overall on our 2023 State Business Tax Climate Index.
Each state’s tax code is a multifaceted system with many moving parts, and Kentucky is no exception. The first step towards understanding Kentucky’s tax code is knowing the basics. How does Kentucky collect tax revenue? Click the tabs below to learn more! You can also explore our state tax maps, which are compiled from our annual publication, Facts & Figures: How Does Your State Compare?
While many factors influence business location and investment decisions, sales taxes are something within policymakers’ control that can have immediate impacts.
11 min readForty-three states adopted tax relief in 2021 or 2022—often in both years—and of those, 21 cut state income tax rates. It’s been a remarkable trend, driven by robust state revenues and an increasingly competitive tax environment.
4 min readAt the end of 2022, prices were 14.6 percent higher than they were two years prior. That’s the fastest inflation rate over any two calendar years since the stagflation era of the late 1970s. State policymakers are understandably interested in bringing any tools at their disposal to bear on the problem. And many of them are reaching for tax policy solutions.
7 min readNew Jersey levies the highest top statutory corporate tax rate at 11.5 percent, followed by Minnesota (9.8 percent) and Illinois (9.50 percent). Alaska and Pennsylvania levy top statutory corporate tax rates of 9.40 percent and 8.99 percent, respectively.
6 min readThe pandemic has accelerated changes to the way we live and work, making it far easier for people to move—and they have. As states work to maintain their competitive advantage, they should pay attention to where people are moving, and try to understand why.
4 min readMost of the 2023 state tax changes represent net tax reductions, the result of an unprecedented wave of rate reductions and other tax cuts in the past two years as states respond to burgeoning revenues, greater tax competition in an era of enhanced mobility, and the impact of high inflation on residents.
20 min readWhile the wireless market has become increasingly competitive in recent years, resulting in steady declines in the average price for wireless services, the price reduction for consumers has been partially offset by higher taxes.
41 min readThe logic that has prevailed for local sales taxes should apply equally to other taxes that localities impose on multijurisdictional businesses, including local tourism taxes. The evidence is clear that central administration of local taxes reduces compliance costs without sacrificing local revenue.
15 min readPeople respond to incentives. As tax rates increase or products are banned from sale, consumers and producers search for ways around these penalties and restrictions.
19 min readIn times of high inflation, states should consider adopting permanent full expensing because it boosts long-run productivity, economic output, and wages.
7 min read