AG’s office defending state tax cut appeal

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman announced Wednesday that his office of the Solicitor General is defending the General Assembly’s constitutional authority to cut Kentuckians’ taxes.

In a brief filed with the Kentucky Court of Appeals, Coleman’s office is supporting the legislature’s law which exempts purchases of gold and bullion from the state’s sales tax.

In 2024, the Kentucky General Assembly passed House Bill 8 to exempt the purchase of gold and bullion from state sales tax. The Governor attempted to line-item veto this specific tax cut. Attorney General Coleman published a formal Opinion of the Attorney General agreeing with the House majority that the Governor’s purported use of the line-item veto was invalid.

Kentucky’s Constitution allows the Governor to line-item veto appropriation bills. However, HB8 was not appropriations bill. As a result, Coleman concluded HB 8 must be considered part of the official laws of Kentucky. House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, and Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, jointly requested the Opinion.

The next year, the General Assembly passed another law, House Bill 2 of 2025, allowing Kentuckians who were forced to pay unlawful taxes the ability to sue to get their money back.

A group of Boone County residents sued the Governor and his Administration after they were unlawfully taxed on purchases. The Boone County Circuit Court ruled against the plaintiffs, prompting the appeal.

“The General Assembly cut Kentuckians’ taxes in an effort to help families save and grow their money. The Governor of our Commonwealth and its courts – as coordinate branches of government – should respect legislators’ ability to do just that,” Coleman said.

The Office of the Attorney General is tasked with providing legal opinions to public officials to assist them in the performance of their duties. Opinions of the Office are persuasive in Kentucky courts and public officials are expected to follow them.

The Commonwealth’s brief was submitted by the Attorney General’s Solicitor General Matt Kuhn, Principal Deputy Solicitor General Jack Heyburn and Deputy Solicitor General Jacob Abrahamson.

Here is where you can read the Attorney General's brief.


Kentucky Today File Photo LRC