State officials in Kansas are scrambling to avoid midyear tax cuts after Governor Brownback’s increased sales tax move failed to pull in the required funding to fulfill the state’s general fund.
The increased sales tax from by four-tenths of a percent, to 6.5 percent, is a part of Governor Brownback’s policy of shifting away from a reliance on income tax to fund the state’s general fund. Democrats decried the shift, with House Minority Leader Tom Burroughs saying that “a tax plan that is overly dependent upon a sales tax is neither responsible, equitable, nor sustainable.”
Reportedly, the total taxes in October were $10.9 million short of official estimates. For the entire fiscal year, that comes to an overall total shortage of $77.9 million.
The fact is that struggling families are not spending as much in Kansas, which means that not enough taxes from sales are coming in. Time to try something else, Gov.
For more information read LJ World “Kansas tax collections $11 million short of expectations in October”
