As a Kentucky state senator, Ralph Alvarado was one of the 20 votes that passed the state's 2018 tax law 20 to 18, a law the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy projected would increase taxes for 95 percent of Kentuckians while cutting them for the richest 5 percent. He then voted to override Governor Matt Bevin's veto of it.
In 2022 Alvarado voted for House Bill 8 and for overriding Governor Andy Beshear's veto of it. The law began phasing down Kentucky's income tax, with a fiscal note projecting a net revenue loss of almost $1.4 billion in its first two years, and extended the sales tax to 35 more categories of services.
Ralph Alvarado's Votes on Kentucky's Tax Laws
- Alvarado Cast One of the 20 Votes That Passed Kentucky's 2018 Tax Law, Which an Analysis Found Would Raise Taxes on Most Kentuckians. On April 2, 2018, state Senator Ralph Alvarado voted for the final version of House Bill 366, which passed the Kentucky Senate 20 to 18. On April 13, 2018, he voted to override Governor Matt Bevin's veto of the bill, which also carried 20 to 18. The law set a flat 5 percent income tax rate and extended the sales tax to over a dozen services, among them auto repair, dry cleaning and landscaping. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a progressive research group, found the changes would raise taxes on 95 percent of Kentuckians. Its study found that the poorest fifth of Kentuckians would pay a little more than $90 more a year on average, while the richest 1 percent, with average incomes of $1,042,000, would get an average cut of $7,086.
- Alvarado Voted for the 2022 Law That Puts Kentucky's Income Tax on a Path Toward Zero. On March 29, 2022, Ralph Alvarado voted for House Bill 8, which passed the Kentucky Senate 27 to 8, and on April 13, 2022 he voted to override the governor's veto. The law cut the income tax rate from 5 percent to 4.5 percent on January 1, 2023 and set conditions for further cuts that could phase the tax out. The bill's fiscal analysis projected a net revenue loss of $1.3965 billion over its first two budget years. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy wrote in 2024 that a state ending its largest revenue source must either raise other taxes or cut services, and noted that Kentucky's K-12 school funding is lower in real terms than before the 2008 recession.
- Alvarado Voted to Put Kentucky's Sales Tax on 35 More Services in 2022. The same House Bill 8 that Ralph Alvarado voted for in March and April 2022 made 35 more categories of services subject to Kentucky's sales tax starting January 1, 2023. The newly taxed services include parking, personal fitness training, recreational camp tuition and fees, household moving, and labor to repair clothing, shoes and watches, so Kentuckians pay more each time they buy them. ITEP has written that moving a state from income taxes toward sales taxes "means dramatic sales tax hikes that working families pay for."
What the Tax Laws Ralph Alvarado Voted For Cost Kentucky Families and Services
- Since 2018, Kentucky households pay sales tax on car repairs, dry cleaning and lawn care. Because of the 2018 law, Kentuckians who get a car repaired, clothes dry cleaned or a yard landscaped pay sales tax on the service, a cost that falls hardest on the lowest-income fifth of households, whose overall state tax bill ITEP projected would go up while the top 5 percent paid less.
- Ending Kentucky's income tax would force tax increases or cuts to schools and roads, ITEP warned. ITEP warned in 2024 that ending Kentucky's income tax would force lawmakers to choose between raising other revenue and cutting priorities such as education and transportation, in a state where school funding has already fallen in real terms since 2008.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ralph Alvarado on Taxes and the deficit
What is Ralph Alvarado's record on taxes and the deficit under Trump?
Ralph Alvarado's tax record comes from his years in the Kentucky Senate. He voted for the 2018 tax law that a progressive research group found would leave the poorest fifth of Kentuckians paying more, and for the 2022 law that cut the income tax, put the sales tax on 35 more services and was projected to reduce state revenue by almost $1.4 billion in two years. Both times he also voted to override the governor's veto.
Did Ralph Alvarado vote to raise sales taxes in Kentucky?
Yes. Ralph Alvarado voted for the 2018 law that first extended Kentucky's sales tax to services such as auto repair and dry cleaning, and for the 2022 law that added 35 more categories, from parking to fitness training. The 2022 bill's fiscal note projected the new sales taxes would raise $57.8 million in the first year, far less than the $530 million the income tax cut was projected to cost that year.
How close was Ralph Alvarado's vote on the 2018 Kentucky tax law?
Ralph Alvarado's vote was one of 20 in a 20 to 18 Senate vote on April 2, 2018 that passed House Bill 366, and the veto override on April 13, 2018 carried by the same 20 to 18 margin, so a switch by any one of those 20 senators would have left the Senate tied 19 to 19.
Last updated: 2026-10-26