Next week, you have a chance to help shape state tax policy.

The Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform will hold a meeting in Prestonsburg to gather local residents’ ideas about how best to amend the state’s tax code. The commission’s goal is to propose tax reforms that are fair, competitive, simple, compliant, elastic and adequate, before the end of the year.

Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson chairs the commission, and he has the importance of the meetings. In a statment earlier this year, Abramson said, “We hope to understand not only their perceptions of how our tax revenue is raised but also whether they think those taxes are adequate to meet the needs of a state facing dynamic shifts in education, workforce training, early childhood development, aging and health care.”

Other meetings have already been held across the state, but next week’s meeting is the only one to be held in Eastern Kentucky. It is vitally important that the forum be well attended, so that the commission can learn the specific tax issues and challenges faced by Appalachians.

In other words, this is no time to sit at home and hope that someone else will go to the meeting to express your concerns and desires.

Too many times, Eastern Kentucky has been denied a seat at the table when the state’s most important issues have been decided. At least a few of those times, it has been our own fault, for not making our voices heard.

There is no more important issue for state government than taxation. It is through taxes that all other priorities are set, and the tax code can have a tremendous impact on the everyday lives of ordinary citizens. This is an extremely rare opportunity for local residents to express their views about what Eastern Kentucky needs.

So, with that said, we hope to see you there, Tuesday night, from 6 to 8 p.m., in the Gearheart Auditorium, on the Big Sandy Community and Technical College campus.

— The Floyd County Times