TOPEKA — The Kansas Chamber is convinced the COVID-19 pandemic requires the state to pause all tax audits, make federal disaster loans tax free, create a tax credit for costs incurred by working remotely, waive licensing fees and compensate businesses restrained by public health orders.
Take a deep breath, because there’s more.
The statewide business organization’s lobbyists also ask the 2021 Legislature and Gov. Laura Kelly to prohibit state or local governments from closing a business making an effort to follow coronavirus protocol. The Kansas Chamber believes businesses should be allowed to collect sales tax but delay transfer of that cash to government without penalty. There is a pitch to keep a waiver on continuing education requirements for frontline workers and people supplying products or services tied to the pandemic.
Alan Cobb, president and chief executive officer of the Kansas Chamber, said the state required a coherent plan to remove barriers to business and encourage job creation as vaccinations become more widespread and the economy returns to a more normal footing.
“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent government shutdowns and restrictions hurt our state’s economy tremendously,” Cobb said. “Unfortunately, much like our historical economic performance, Kansas’ recovery during the second half of 2020 lagged behind the rest of the states. We believe as more Kansas businesses prosper, so will their employees, their communities and our great state.”
Kansas Chamber officials offer an annual wish list of proposals designed to help businesses prosper. This year’s model touches on taxes, regulation, education, health care, the law and other subjects ranging from electricity costs to government outsourcing.
The package adheres to the conservative ideology of the organization’s leaders and draws input from an annual survey of business owners at companies large and small.
In addition to tax policy related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kansas Chamber renewed opposition to expanding Medicaid eligibility for for 150,000 to 165,000 low-income Kansans. States can expand use of Medicaid under provisions of the Affordable Care Act with the federal government paying 90% of the cost for broadening use of the program and the state picking up 10% of the additional expenditures.
The Kansas Chamber also wants Kansas to continue with the managed-care model for delivery of Medicaid services to about 400,000 people under the KanCare program. KanCare is operated by three for-profit companies under contract with the state.
Kelly has consistently placed Medicaid expansion among her top legislative priorities. She said the pandemic has heightened the need for quality, accessible health care for Kansans. She has said the Republican-led Legislature rejected previous expansion proposals for political reasons.
“If we’ve learned anything these past 10 months, it’s that every Kansan deserves health care they can afford, good health care facilities near their homes and for our rural neighbors and friends, more access to telehealth services,” the Democratic governor said. “That’s why I’ll continue to push, over and over again, for what 38 states across the country have done — to expand Medicaid to cover another 165,000 Kansans, to ensure that our rural hospitals remain open and inject billions of dollars into our economy.”
The Kansas Chamber’s adherents returned to the Capitol intent on defeating a potential Kelly veto of a bill that would allow Kansans to claim a standard deduction on federal tax returns and itemize deductions on state tax returns. Under existing state law, Kansas returns are coupled to the federal tax policy. Tax filers must accept both standard deductions or itemize on both returns.
This has been an issue since President Donald Trump signed a bill in 2017 that dramatically increased standard deductions on federal taxes. Kelly vetoed legislation in 2019 that would have accomplished what the Kansas Chamber seeks.
