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Local Option Sales Tax Proponents Gear Up For 2015

Supporters of a Local Sales Tax option for Kentucky communities are hopeful they might have better luck in the General Assembly in 2015.

Lexington Mayor Jim Gray was among the city leaders pressing lawmakers in Frankfort to put a Local Option Sales Tax on the ballot for Kentucky voters to approve. The initiative that would allow communities to vote on temporary local sales tax increases up to one percent to fund specific projects failed to gain traction during the 2014 session.

But board member with LIFT, or Local Option Investments for Transportation, Bill Samuels tells cn|2 Pure Politics the idea is gaining momentum with city and business leaders.

"This took awhile through the last session to really build this coalition and for everyone to get comfortable that this was real, that this actually works, and that we're not plowing new ground as a Commonwealth," he says. 

Some lawmakers had appeared reticent to support any measure that could result in a tax increase in an election year, but Samuels says he’s optimistic about the progress that’s been made on the issue.

Josh James fell in love with college radio at Western Kentucky University's student station, New Rock 92 (now Revolution 91.7). After working as a DJ and program director, he knew he wanted to come home to Lexington and try his hand in public radio.
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