Member speaks out for her community while Bowling Green passes business tax cut

The Bowling Green City Commission voted 4 - 1 to pass a local tax cut for businesses, the costs of which are unknown.

The commissioners only knew of two other Kentucky communities – Hopkinsville and Radcliff – that have exempted capital gains from the city's revenues. Further, the city doesn't know what the fiscal impact on Bowling Green will be, because revenue from the tax hasn't been separated out. It's not at all clear how this tax cut will impact the community's ability to invest in things like the local library, fire and police protection, and local parks and infrastructure.

Because of all the unanswered questions, some community members came to the meeting to speak out for delaying the vote until the commission is able to better understand the consequences of the tax cut.

KFTC member Dana Beasley Brown addressed the commission, saying, “Signing off on a tax break that we just don’t know enough about jeopardizes the future stability of our community."

One commissioner, Joe Denning, voted against the tax cut. “It appeared to me that it was only in the interest of the select few individuals in the community rather than business people overall,” he said.

You can read more in the Bowling Green Daily News, here and here.