Beshear Rules Out Tax Hike.........For Now

Mark Hebert over at WHAS reports:

Kentucky's new governor says he won't include any tax increase in his 2008-'10 budget proposal but he refused to say he'd veto a tax hike if one's included in the budget that's approved by the House and Senate.

Beshear told me and other reporters today that Kentucky is facing a half billion dollar budget shortfall over the next few years but he doesn't believe a tax hike is
needed "at this time." Beshear says he won't include any tax hikes in the budget he proposes to the legislature later this month. But when Joe Biesk of the AP asked Beshear if he would veto any tax hike if it hit his desk, Beshear appeared to duck the question, saying only that he didn't see any sentiment in the legislature for raising taxes to deal with what he's calling "a budget crisis." ...