Budget: Williams Sees Little Chance For Tax Hikes

State Senate President David Williams (R-Burkesville) told the Courier-Journal that the Senate is not likely to approve a budget resembling the version passed by the Democratically-controlled House last week. That version included a 25 cent per pack tax increase and a sales tax hike on services such as armored cars and commercial laundering. House leaders indicated they saw these as necessary provisions to avoid dramatic spending cuts.

Williams acknowledges these tax increases are key obstacles to passage in the Senate:

"The numbers just don't indicate that this budget is a responsible budget that was sent over by the House," said Williams [...]"We don't see any sentiment down here for raising taxes."

Democratic Governor Steve Beshear remains committed to the tax hikes, and will appear at a rally jointly with representatives from the American Cancer Society tomorrow to push for a further 35 cent per pack jump in cigarette taxes.

Friction between the House and Senate versions will push the budget into a tenuous conference committee. House Budget Committee Chairperson Harry Moberley told the Herald-Leader he remained hopeful the tax hikes would survive the process:

"I think they're still in play, particularly the cigarette tax," Moberly said. "When we get to conference, we'll find out what their strategy is."

The Senate version of the budget is expected to pass by Monday.