A group of three economists hopes to provide key input to Kentucky's tax commission this summer.
The Blue Ribbon Tax Commission picked three professors to act as consultants as the group considers changes to the state's tax code. Two are from the University of Kentucky and one is from the University of Tennessee.
UK professor William Hoyt will serve as the principal investigator. He says the selection was an honor, and his goal for the group is to produce a slew of options to the commission.
"I think what we hope to achieve is you know provide some options grounded in economic theory, trying to emphasize some of the things that economists think about in terms of taxes," he says.
Hoyt is the director of the Martin School of Public Policy and Administration at UK. Fellow UK professor Michael Childress is also in the group, as is Williams Fox from Tennessee.
Hoyt says Kentucky's unique geography means it must pay more attention to surrounding states and their tax codes, because the commonwealth is competing for residents and businesses.
"And that means that we are probably have to be more aware of what our neighbors are doing in terms of tax structure. And so one of the things we need to look at is and have thought about is, how do we compare?" Hoyt says.
The tax commission and its consultants plan to work throughout the summer before presenting recommendations to Governor Steve Beshear in November.
