SB 76 — AN ACT relating to local occupational license fees and taxes.

UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BRSB 156976/GA AN ACT relating to local occupational license fees and taxes.

KRS 68.180 is amended to read as follows:

(1) The fiscal court of each county having a population of five[three] hundred thousand (500,000)[(300,000)] or more may by order or resolution impose license fees on franchises, provide for licensing any business, trade, occupation, or profession, and the using, holding, or exhibiting of any animal, article, or other thing.

(2) License fees on such business, trade, occupation, or profession for revenue purposes, except those of the common schools, shall be imposed at a percentage rate not to exceed one and one-fourth percent (1.25%) of:

(a) Salaries, wages, commissions, and other compensation earned by persons within the county for work done and services performed or rendered in the county;

and (b) The net profits of businesses, trades, professions, or occupations from activities conducted in the county.

(3) (a) No public service company that pays an ad valorem tax shall be required to pay a license tax.

(b) 1.

It is the intent of the General Assembly to continue the exemption from local license fees and occupational taxes that existed on January 1, 2006, for providers of multichannel video programming services or communications services as defined in KRS 136.602 that were taxed under KRS 136.120 prior to January 1, 2006.

2.

To further this intent, no company providing multichannel video programming services or communications services as defined in KRS 136.602 shall be required to pay a license tax.

If only a portion of an entity's business is providing multichannel video programming services or communications services, including products or services that are Page 1 of 4 XXXX 1/13/2026 10:06 AM Jacketed UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1569 related to and provided in support of the multichannel video programming services or communications services, this exclusion applies only to that portion of the business that provides multichannel video programming services or communications services, including products or services that are related to and provided in support of the multichannel video programming services or communications services or communications services.

(c) No license tax shall be imposed upon or collected from any bank, trust company, combined bank and trust company, combined trust, banking and title business in this state, any savings and loan association, whether state or federally chartered.

(d) No license tax shall be imposed upon income received by members of the Kentucky National Guard for active duty training, unit training assemblies, and annual field training.

(e) No license tax shall be imposed upon income received by precinct workers for election training or work at election booths in state, county, and local primary, regular, or special elections.

(f) No license tax shall be imposed upon any profits, earnings, or distributions of an investment fund which would qualify under KRS 154.20-250 to 154.20- 284 to the extent any profits, earnings, or distributions would not be taxable to an individual investor, or in other cases where the county is prohibited by law from imposing a license tax.

(g) 1.

No license tax shall be imposed upon:

a.

The profits earned;

or b.

Income received for work performed;

during a disaster response period by a disaster response business or a disaster response employee.

Page 2 of 4 XXXX 1/13/2026 10:06 AM Jacketed UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1569 2.

As used in this paragraph, "disaster response business," "disaster response employee," and "disaster response period" have the same meaning as in KRS 141.010.

(4) The provisions and limitations of subsection (2) of this section shall not apply to license fees imposed for regulatory purposes as to form and amount, or to the license fees authorized by KRS 160.482 to 160.488.

(5) Pursuant to this section, no fiscal court shall regulate any aspect of the manner in which any duly ordained, commissioned, or denominationally licensed minister of religion may perform his or her duties and activities as a minister of religion.

Duly ordained, commissioned, or denominationally licensed ministers of religion shall be subject to the same license fees imposed on others in the county on salaries, wages, commissions, and other compensation earned for work done and services performed or rendered.

Section 2.

KRS 68.185 is amended to read as follows:

(1) The fiscal court of each county having a population of five[three] hundred thousand (500,000)[(300,000)] or more may provide for the levy, assessment, and collection of the license fees authorized by KRS 68.180 and 160.482 to 160.488, provide for the issuance and enforcement of licenses, and specify the county governmental purposes to which the revenue derived from license fees authorized by KRS 68.180 shall be applied.

(2) In making the provisions described in subsection (1), and without limiting them, the fiscal court may, by resolution or order, adopt reasonable rules or regulations requiring the preparation and filing of timely, accurate, and truthful returns, accounts, and license applications which will aid in the determination of the amount of the fee.

Section 3.

KRS 160.482 is amended to read as follows:

To help provide for an efficient system of common schools in any county having Page 3 of 4 XXXX 1/13/2026 10:06 AM Jacketed UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1569 five[three] hundred thousand (500,000)[(300,000)] or more inhabitants, the General Assembly delegates to the fiscal courts and boards of education of any such county the powers and duties set forth in KRS 160.482 to 160.488.

The General Assembly finds and declares that in any such county there are besetting public education special problems which can best be solved pursuant to KRS 160.482 to 160.488.

Furthermore, the General Assembly declares that the public policy of the Commonwealth is not offended but is best served by the authority of KRS 160.482 to 160.488 for the imposition, payment, and collection of license fees on businesses, trades, occupations, and professions over and above license fees that may already be imposed thereon.

Section 4.

Section 5.2.

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