{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-148.853","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 148.853","heading":"Legislative findings -- Qualifications for incentives -- Incentives available.","body":"(Effective until July 1, 2027)\n(1) The General Assembly finds and declares that:\n(a) The general welfare and material well -being of the citizens of the\nCommonwealth depend in large measure upon the development of tourism in\nthe Commonwealth;\n(b) It is in the best interest of the Commonwealth to provide incentives for the\ncreation of new tourism attractions and the expansion of existing tourism\nattractions within the Commonwealth in order to advance the public purposes\nof relieving unemployment by preserving and creating jobs that would not\nexist if not for the incentives offered by the authority to approved companies,\nand by preserving and creating sources of tax re venues for the support of\npublic services provided by the Commonwealth;\n(c) The authorities granted by KRS 148.851 to 148.860 are proper governmental\nand public purposes for which public moneys may be expended; and\n(d) That the creation or expansion of tou rism development projects is of\nparamount importance mandating that the provisions of KRS 139.536 and\nKRS 148.851 to 148.860 be liberally construed and applied in order to\nadvance public purposes.\n(2) To qualify for incentives provided in KRS 139.536 and 1 48.851 to 148.860, the\nfollowing requirements shall be met:\n(a) For a tourism attraction project:\n1. The total eligible costs shall exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),\nexcept for a tourism attraction project located in a county designated as\na heritage county at the time the eligible company becomes an approved\ncompany as provided in KRS 148.857(6), the total eligible costs shall\nexceed five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000);\n2. In any year, including the first year of operation, the tourism attraction\nproject shall be open to the public at least one hundred (100) days; and\n3. In any year following the third year of operation, the tourism attraction\nproject shall attract at least twenty-five percent (25%) of its visitors\nfrom among persons who are not residents of the Commonwealth;\n(b) For an entertainment destination center project:\n1. The total eligible costs shall exceed five million dollars ($5,000,000);\n2. The facility shall c ontain a minimum of two hundred thousand\n(200,000) square feet of building space adjacent or complementary to an\nexisting tourism attraction project or a major convention facility;\n3. The incentives shall be dedicated to a public infrastructure purpose tha t\nshall relate to the entertainment destination center project;\n4. In any year, including the first year of operation, the entertainment\ndestination center project shall:\na. Be open to the public at least one hundred (100) days per year;\nb. Maintain at least one (1) major theme restaurant and at least three\n(3) additional entertainment venues, including but not limited to\nlive entertainment, multiplex theaters, large-format theater, motion\nsimulators, family entertainment centers, concert halls, virtual\nreality or other interactive games, museums, exhibitions, or other\ncultural and leisure-time activities; and\nc. Maintain a minimum occupancy of sixty percent (60%) of the total\ngross area available for lease with entertainment and food and\ndrink options not i ncluding the retail sale of tangible personal\nproperty; and\n5. In any year following the third year of operation, the entertainment\ndestination center project shall attract at least twenty -five percent (25%)\nof its visitors from among persons who are not r esidents of the\nCommonwealth;\n(c) For a theme restaurant destination attraction project:\n1. The total eligible costs shall exceed five million dollars ($5,000,000);\n2. In any year, including the first year of operation, the attraction shall:\na. Be open to the public at least three hundred (300) days per year\nand for at least eight (8) hours per day; and\nb. Generate no more than fifty percent (50%) of its revenue through\nthe sale of alcoholic beverages;\n3. In any year following the third year of operation, t he theme restaurant\ndestination attraction project shall attract a minimum of fifty percent\n(50%) of its visitors from among persons who are not residents of the\nCommonwealth; and\n4. The theme restaurant destination attraction project shall:\na. At the time of final approval, offer a unique dining experience that\nis not available in the Commonwealth within a one hundred (100)\nmile radius of the attraction;\nb. In any year, including the first year of operation, maintain seating\ncapacity of four hundred fifty (450) guests and offer live music or\nlive musical and theatrical entertainment during the peak business\nhours that the facility is in operation and open to the public; or\nc. Within three (3) years of the completion date, the attraction shall\nobtain a top t wo (2) tier rating by a nationally accredited service\nand shall maintain a top two (2) tier rating through the term of the\nagreement;\n(d) For a lodging facility project defined in KRS 148.851(15)(a):\n1. a. The eligible costs shall exceed five million dolla rs ($5,000,000)\nunless the provisions of subdivision b. of this subparagraph apply.\nb. i. If the lodging facility is an integral part of a major\nconvention or sports facility, the eligible costs shall exceed\nsix million dollars ($6,000,000); and\nii. If the lodging facility includes five hundred (500) or more\nguest rooms, the eligible costs shall exceed ten million\ndollars ($10,000,000); and\n2. In any year, including the first year of operation, the lodging facility\nshall:\na. Be open to the public at least one hundred (100) days; and\nb. Attract at least twenty -five percent (25%) of its visitors from\namong persons who are not residents of the Commonwealth;\n(e) For a lodging facility project defined in KRS 148.851(15)(b):\n1. The eligible costs shall excee d one hundred million dollars\n($100,000,000); and\n2. The lodging facility shall:\na. Be open to the public at least one hundred (100) days each year,\nincluding the first year of operation; and\nb. In any year following the third year of operation, attract a\nminimum of twenty -five percent (25%) of its overnight visitors\nfrom among persons who are not residents of the Commonwealth;\n(f) Any tourism development project shall not be eligible for incentives if it\nincludes material determined to be lewd, offensive, or deemed to have a\nnegative impact on the tourism industry in the Commonwealth; and\n(g) An expansion of any tourism development project shall in all cases be treated\nas a new stand-alone project.\n(3) (a) The incentives offered to an approved company under  the Kentucky Tourism\nDevelopment Act may include a sales tax incentive based on the Kentucky\nsales tax imposed on sales generated by or arising at the tourism development\nproject.\n(b) 1. For a tourism development project other than a lodging facility proj ect\ndescribed in subparagraph 4. or 5. of this paragraph:\na. A sales tax incentive shall be allowed to an approved company\nover a period of ten (10) years, except as provided in\nsubparagraphs 7. and 8. of this paragraph; and\nb. The sales tax incentive shal l not exceed the lesser of the total\namount of the sales tax liability of the approved company and its\nlessees or a percentage of the approved costs as specified by the\nagreement, not to exceed twenty-five percent (25%).\n2. For projects approved according to the application period established\nunder KRS 148.8531, a tourism attraction project located in a heritage\ncounty at the time the eligible company becomes an approved company\nas provided in KRS 148.857(6):\na. A sales tax incentive shall be allowed to the  approved company\nover a period of ten (10) years; and\nb. The sales tax incentive shall not exceed the lesser of the total\namount of the sales tax liability of the approved company and its\nlessees or a percentage of the approved costs as specified by the\nagreement, not to exceed thirty percent (30%).\n3. For applications considered after June 27, 2025, including projects\nrelated to property to which the title passed from a seller to a buyer on\nor after March 1, 2025, a tourism attraction project located in a  heritage\ncounty with a population equal to or less than twenty thousand (20,000)\nbased on the most recent decennial census at the time the eligible\ncompany becomes an approved company as provided in KRS\n148.857(6):\na. A sales tax incentive shall be allowe d to the approved company\nover a period of twenty (20) years; and\nb. The sales tax incentive shall not exceed the lesser of the total\namount of the sales tax liability of the approved company and its\nlessees or a percentage of the approved costs as specifi ed by the\nagreement, not to exceed fifty percent (50%).\n4. For a lodging facility project described in KRS 148.851(15)(a)5. or 6.:\na. A sales tax incentive shall be allowed to the approved company\nover a period of twenty (20) years; and\nb. The sales tax incentive shall not exceed the lesser of total amount\nof the sales tax liability of the approved company and its lessees or\na percentage of the approved costs as specified by the agreement,\nnot to exceed fifty percent (50%).\n5. For a lodging facility project described in KRS 148.851(15)(b), a sales\ntax incentive that shall:\na. Be allowed to the approved company over a period of twenty (20)\nyears; and\nb. Not exceed the lesser of the total amount of sales tax liability of\nthe approved company and its lessees or a percentage of the\napproved costs as specified by the agreement, not to exceed fifty\npercent (50%).\n6. Any unused incentives from a previous year may be carried forward to\nany succeeding year during the term of the agreement until the entire\nspecified percentage of the approved costs has been received through\nsales tax incentives.\n7. If the approved company is an entertainment destinat ion center that has\ndedicated at least thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) of the incentives\nprovided under the agreement to a public infrastructure purpose, the\nagreement may be amended to extend the term of the agreement up to\ntwo (2) additional years if the approved company agrees to:\na. Reinvest in the original entertainment destination project one\nhundred percent (100%) of any incentives received during the\nextension that were outstanding at the end of the original term of\nthe agreement; and\nb. Report to the authority at the end of each fiscal year the amount of\nincentives received during the extension and how the incentives\nwere reinvested in the original entertainment destination project.\n8. The term of a tourism development agreement entered into wi th a\ntourism attraction project that was in effect on January 1, 2020, shall be\nextended for one (1) year if the tourism attraction project:\na. Has historically been open to the public on a seasonal basis\nconsisting of less than six (6) months;\nb. Has previously met the requirement of being open to the public at\nleast one hundred (100) days during the entire term of the tourism\ndevelopment agreement as required under subsection (2)(a)2. of\nthis section;\nc. Failed to be open to the public at least one hundre d (100) days\nduring the calendar year 2020 solely as a result of complying with\none (1) or more executive orders issued by the Governor under the\nauthority of KRS 39A.090 that prevented the tourism attraction\nproject from being open to the public for at le ast one hundred\n(100) days during its normal operating season; and\nd. Applied for a sales tax incentive related to the calendar year 2020\noperating season and was denied the sales tax incentive solely on\nthe basis that the tourism attraction project was no t open to the\npublic for at least one hundred (100) days in calendar year 2020.\nEffective: April 27, 2026","path":["KRS Chapter 148"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57137","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:50:41Z","sha256":"4c341bc289de6a01a60d1c72fdd3137cbb3b21125394c9bd467bc34d87005d3c","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-148.851","next":"us-ky/krs-148.8531"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}