Does Kentucky already provide tax-breaks and subsidies for the coal industry?
Yes. KFTC has calculated that taxpayers give the coal industry in Kentucky about $100 million a year in tax breaks and direct subsidies. These include tax breaks for switching from another heating source to a coal-fired heating system, tax breaks to utility companies that increase their use of coal in a given year, and a sales tax exemption on coal used to generate electricity in Kentucky. Despite the state’s heavy subsidies for the coal industry, our existing laws do not allow economic development incentives to go to mining or coal related businesses. That restriction exists for a number of reasons, including the fact that the coal isn’t going anywhere, so it shouldn’t be necessary to provide incentives for coal companies to locate here. Also, many of our existing economic development laws were written to help diversify the economies of Kentucky’s distressed communities where large numbers of people live in poverty despite (or because of) a century of coal mining.
