A new poll in Kentucky shows that voters are responding favorably to a constitutional amendment that would allow local sales tax. In Kentucky, any bill proposals must be approve by the state legislature to be included on the ballot and no bill has yet been filed with legislators to proposal a ballot initiative. There are still a number of roadblocks till local option sales tax becomes a reality in Kentucky but it’s certainly not out of the question. The Herald-Leader/WKYT conducted a Bluegrass Poll from Jan. 30 to Feb. 3 with 1,082 registered Kentucky voters using automated phone calls and cellphone surveys. The results show 60 percent of registered voters are in favor of a constitutional amendment and 24 percent oppose such a measure. Sixteen percent remain undecided. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Compared to last year’s poll in February, things have changed slightly. The last poll showed 72 percent of respondents supported the amendment and 19 percent opposed it. But those pushing the amendment still believe it’s a strong case for LOST in Kentucky. A few large municipalities are teaming up together to seek a ballot measure that will allow up to a 1 penny increase on the state’s 6-cent sales tax for “major infrastructure projects.” According to the ballot intiative’s backers, Local Investments for Transformation (LIFT), the tax increase would expire when the project was paid off. LIFT expects that local option taxes would add $34.7 million a year for Fayette County and $95 million for Jefferson County to the budget in a time when more revenue is badly needed. Adding another LOST states could prove to be difficult for many businesses.

There are currently thirty-seven states in the country with local option sales tax and if Kentucky goes ahead with their sales tax plans it will increase the number of sales tax jurisdictions in the country again.The more sales tax variances throughout the country, the more difficult it is to file sales tax. While legislators in the Kentucky House and Senate aren’t positive that a ballot initiative bill would make it through legislative hoops, there’s always the chance that LOST becomes a reality in Kentucky. Is your business ready? Sign up for a free evaluation today if you’re unprepared for looming sales tax changes.