{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-91.200","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 91.200","heading":"City license taxes -- Imposition -- Exemptions -- Rate -- Collection --","body":"Transfer of surplus to general fund -- Use -- Restriction on ad valorem tax for\nsinking fund purposes -- Issuance and enforcement of licenses -- Regulation of\nministers.\n(1) The board of aldermen of every city of the first class, in addition to levying ad\nvalorem taxes, may by ordinance impose license fees on franchises, provide for\nlicensing any business, trade, occupation, or profession and the using, holding, or\nexhibiting of any animal, article, or other thing.\n(2) License fees on a business, trade, occupation, or profession for revenue purposes\nmay be imposed at a percentage rate not to exceed those hereinafter set forth on:\n(a) Salaries, wages, commissions and other co mpensations earned by every\nperson within the city for work done and services performed or rendered in the\ncity (all of such being hereinafter collectively referred to as \"wages\"); and\n(b) The net profits of all businesses, professions, or occupations from  activities\nconducted in the city (hereinafter collectively referred to as \"net profits\").\n(3) (a) Licenses imposed for regulatory purposes shall not be subject to such\nlimitations as to form and amount.\n(b) No company that pays an ad valorem tax and a franchise tax is required to pay\na license tax.\n(c) 1. It is the intent of the General Assembly to continue the exemption from\nlocal license fees and occupational taxes that existed on January 1, 2006,\nfor providers of multichannel video programming services or\ncommunications services as defined in KRS 136.602 that were taxed\nunder KRS 136.120 prior to January 1, 2006.\n2. To further this intent, no company providing multichannel video\nprogramming services or communications services as defined in KRS\n136.602 sh all be required to pay a license tax. If only a portion of an\nentity's business is providing multichannel video programming services\nor communications services, including products or services that are\nrelated to and provided in support of the multichannel video\nprogramming services or communications services, this exclusion\napplies only to that portion of the business that provides multichannel\nvideo programming services or communications services including\nproducts or services that are related to and provi ded in support of the\nmultichannel video programming services or communications services.\n(d) No license tax shall be imposed upon or collected from any bank, trust\ncompany, combined bank and trust company or combined trust, banking and\ntitle business in t his state, any savings and loan association whether state or\nfederally chartered.\n(e) No license tax shall be imposed upon income received by members of the\nKentucky national guard for active duty training, unit training assemblies, and\nannual field training.\n(f) No license tax shall be imposed on income received by precinct workers for\nelection training or work at election booths in state, county, and local primary,\nregular, or special elections.\n(g) No license tax shall be imposed upon any profits, earnings, or distributions of\nan investment fund which would qualify under KRS 154.20 -250 to 154.20 -\n284 to the extent any profits, earnings, or distributions would not be taxable to\nan individual investor, or in any other case where the city is prohibited by\nstatute from imposing a license tax.\n(h) 1. No license tax shall be imposed upon:\na. The profits earned; or\nb.  Income received for work performed;\nduring a disaster response period by a disaster respon se business or a\ndisaster response employee.\n2. As used in this paragraph, \"disaster response business,\" \"disaster\nresponse employee,\" and \"disaster response period\" have the same\nmeaning as in KRS 141.010.\n(4) The rate fixed on both \"wages\" and \"net profits\" shall be one and one-fourth percent\n(1.25%).\n(5) License fees or taxes shall be collected by the commissioners of the sinking fund.\nThe proceeds from the taxes shall be paid to the secretary and treasurer of the\nsinking fund until income from all sour ces of the sinking fund is sufficient to pay\nthe cost of administration and the interest charges for the current fiscal year of the\nsinking fund in addition to a sum sufficient to amortize the outstanding principal\nindebtedness of the city on a yearly basi s in accordance with regularly used\namortization tables.\n(6) Revenue remaining after meeting the foregoing requirements shall be transferred to\nthe city. Such revenues shall be credited to the general fund of the city as received\nand may be expended for general purposes or for capital improvements.\n(7) The term \"capital improvements\" as used in this section is limited to additions or\nimprovements of a substantial and permanent nature and services rendered in\nconnection therewith, and includes but is not limited to:\n(a) The purchase of rights of way for highways, expressways, and the widening of\nexisting streets;\n(b) The purchase of lands for park, recreational, and other governmental facilities\nand for public off-street parking facilities;\n(c) The purchase, construction, reconstruction, renovation, or remodeling of\nmunicipal buildings, and facilities;\n(d) The replacement of machinery, wires, pipes, structural members or fixtures,\nand other essential portions of municipal buildings;\n(e) The initial equipment o f any newly acquired facility wherein any essential\ngovernmental function of the municipality may be located or carried on;\n(f) The purchase and installation of traffic control devices and fire alarm\nequipment;\n(g) The reconstruction and resurfacing, but not routine maintenance, of streets and\nother public ways;\n(h) The acquisition of motorized equipment purchased as additions to, but not\nreplacements for, existing equipment; and\n(i) Engineering and other costs incurred by the city in connection with the\nconstruction of public improvements financed under a special assessment\nplan.\n(8) Ad valorem taxes for the benefit of the sinking fund shall not be levied unless the\nincome of the sinking fund is otherwise insufficient to meet such requirements.\n(9) Licenses shall be issued and enforced on terms and conditions as prescribed by\nordinance.\n(10) Pursuant to this section, no city of the first class shall regulate any aspect of the\nmanner in which any duly ordained, commissioned, or denominationally licensed\nminister of religion may perform his or her duties and activities as a minister of\nreligion. Duly ordained, commissioned, or denominationally licensed ministers of\nreligion shall be subject to the same license fees imposed on others in the city on\nsalaries, wag es, commissions, and other compensation earned for work done and\nservices performed or rendered.","path":["KRS Chapter 91"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=50961","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:48Z","sha256":"53035909431618db4ccb1d87dc51415653d158ed4675394eb190f1a61a909561","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-91.190","next":"us-ky/krs-91.202"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}