On February 19, Legislative Director Kevin Kinnally submitted written testimony to the Ways and Means Committee in opposition to HB 653 – Income Tax – Subtraction Modification for Public Safety Retirement Income – Amount.
This bill would increase the state income tax deduction for retired public safety officers. This change would be rolled out gradually over five years to provide incremental tax relief to eligible retirees.
In general, MACo stands for local self-determination. Counties, led by locally elected leaders directly accountable within the communities they serve, are best positioned to govern local affairs – ranging from land use to fiscal matters. MACo steadfastly guards local autonomy and consistently opposes one-size-fits-all policies that override local decision-making.
State tax incentives should be enacted as “local option” offerings to
allow counties maximum flexibility in tailoring local policies to meet local needs and priorities. The State and its local governments already work together here, where the State routinely grants a state-level property tax credit, enabling county governments to enact their own local-option property tax credits.
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