On July 26, 2019, the Kentucky Department of Revenue (“DOR”) published Revenue Procedure KY-RP-19-03, superseding Revenue Procedure KY-RP-17-01. Under the new Revenue Procedure, which will become effective October 1, 2019, a taxpayer who requests a private letter ruling (“PLR”) will still receive a draft PLR from DOR and a 30-day window in which to provide additional argument or information prior to DOR’s final issuance of the PLR. Under the new procedure, instead of verifying the accuracy and completeness of facts submitted with the request for a PLR, the taxpayer or authorized representative will be required to verify that the underlying facts as presented in the draft PLR are accurate and complete. Also, the new procedure will require the taxpayer or authorized representative to sign an acknowledgement that a redacted version of the PLR will be issued to the public, with confidential taxpayer information to be removed in accordance with KRS 131.130(8). The taxpayer or authorized representative must also sign a waiver of any potential right to confidentiality that may exist pursuant to Kentucky statutes. This acknowledgement and waiver must be signed prior to DOR’s issuance of the PLR.  The new procedure provides that in addition to the issuance of the PLR to the taxpayer, DOR will post a redacted version of the PLR to DOR’s website.

In light of this new procedure, during the 30-day review period for a draft PLR, taxpayers and authorized representatives should be prepared to consider what elements of the PLR should be regarded as confidential and provide feedback to DOR on that aspect, as well as any substantive arguments or information a taxpayer may wish to provide prior to the final issuance of the PLR.