The chair of the Kansas House Tax Committee is responding to claims from Democrats about the tax plan passed by the Legislature last weekend. The Republican-dominated Legislature passed a bill that will cut income tax rates, but will also keep the sales tax elevated and reduce income tax deductions.
The Chair of the state Democratic Party, former revenue secretary Joan Wagnon, says legislators broke their promise to let a temporary sales tax expire, and put a bigger burden on working Kansans, amounting to a more than $750 million tax increase.
But the chair of the House Tax Committee says the new bill is really a continuation of the big tax cut passed last year.
“We knew it had some problems in it that needed to be adjusted over time, but it was a step in the right direction.”
Richard Carlson is a republican from St. Marys. Last year’s tax bill included cuts to income tax rates and eliminated many business taxes, but it did not include what are known as the “pay fors” that help balance the budget. Carlson says this year’s tax bill continues a path to economic growth.
“But at the same time do it in a sensible and sustainable methodology, and I think that’s what it does,” he says.
He says when you combine the two tax bills, the overall effect is still a tax cut for Kansans.
