It doesnt take prognosticating skill to predict that Kansas Democrats and Republicans will argue about taxes in 2020.
Of course they will. But the 2020 argument should be especially interesting to voters as officials decide not only if tax relief is coming, but who should benefit.
First the state will have to determine whether it can afford to reduce taxes.
There are signs it can, as state revenues have been meeting or surpassing expectations for more than a year. Thats good news after the debacle that was also known as the tenure of Gov. Sam Brownback.
Brownback and Republicans in the Legislature eliminated income taxes for hundreds of thousands of businesses and farms. They promised tax cuts were a special kind of magic; that they would create more tax revenue, not less.
They were wrong by about a billion dollars.
Rather than admit his mistake, Brownback made things worse. He ran up the debt. He repeatedly cut funds to schools and virtually every other service and program. With help from the Legislature, he raised sales taxes.
Finally in 2017, even many Republicans balked. They worked with Democrats to restore sanity to the states income tax policies.
As a result, Kansas now stands on more stable fiscal ground.
Still, Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat who took office about a year ago, has made clear that shes not eager to cut taxes.
Recent revenue reports, however, indicate that Kansas should be able to provide some tax relief.
Kelly knows that, and she has appointed a tax council to recommend changes in Kansas tax policy.
According to reporting by John Hanna of Associated Press, Kelly and her council seem focused on relief for those who pay sales taxes and property taxes.
But Republican leaders in the Legislature remain insistent about tax relief for businesses and wealthier Kansans. Last year they passed legislation to allow Kansans to maximize their savings from the 2017 federal income tax cuts that mostly benefited businesses and high-income taxpayers. Kelly vetoed the bill.
As Kansas and its legislators ready for the 2020 session, its worth comparing Kansas tax burden to other states.
In one analysis, WalletHub ranked Kansas 20th among the states for its tax burden. New York was No. 1, with the highest overall tax burden. Whats interesting about the WalletHub ranking is that it examined different kinds of taxes. Kansas ranked 18th in sales taxes, 13th in property taxes and 38th in individual income taxes.
