Kansans should applaud the House Taxation Committee and its chair, Representative Steven Johnson of Assaria, for their political backbone in making property taxes an option in addressing the legislatures school finance dilemma.
The Kansas Supreme Court has ruled the current structure of school finance unconstitutional and ordered state lawmakers to fix it by early April. Some estimate that will cost as much as $600 million in new revenue.
State lawmakers enacted a uniform, statewide 32-mill levy for schools in 1992 that cut property taxes statewide by $260 million. That mill levy was reduced to its present level of 20 mills in 1997, further shrinking state-mandated property taxes for schools. A 10-mill increase would now generate roughly $320 million in new revenue, which represents a 7 percent increase in total property tax revenues statewide.
To read more please log in or subscribe to the digital edition. https://www.etypeservices.com/Iola%20RegisterID709/
