Competitive tax climate would help Kansas attract a skilled workforce and keep retired residents

When you’ve spent your life working hard, raising a family, and saving money, you should never be prevented from fulfilling dreams to travel, visit grandkids and make up for lost time.

It’s a tragedy to reach that point only to find you can’t do those things because your retirement account is depleted due to an unstable market, the cost of gas has reached record highs, and the cost of living is increasing at a rate not seen in over four decades.

Sadly, retirees living in Kansas do not have to imagine this scenario. They are living it.

Because of the policy whims of elected officials like President Joe Biden and Gov. Laura Kelly, we are experiencing record inflation and gas prices. All Kansans are struggling to make ends meet, especially retirees on a fixed income.

To make matters worse, an independent analysis recently rated Kansas as the third-worst state in the country for tax burden on retirees.

Thankfully there’s hope on the horizon. Kansas attorney general and Republican candidate for governor Derek Schmidt has a plan to improve these dismal numbers. Derek’s “Retire Tax Free” initiative would ensure there is no income tax on social security benefits, no income tax on pensions, and no income tax on 401k’s and IRA’s.

Removing the tax on retirement benefits makes good economic sense. There are currently 12 states nationwide that do not tax retirement income, with Iowa soon joining the list. For Kansas to compete with these states to attract a skilled workforce and retain retirees, we must have a competitive tax climate. Schmidt’s Retire Tax Free plan goes a long way toward making that happen.

Meanwhile, Gov. Kelly’s Tax Council this year endorsed a plan that would actually raise taxes on retirees and other Kansans earning more than $50,000 per year.

With the obscenely high tax burden on retirees, it’s no wonder that Kansas ranks high in outbound migration. Kansas is a great state to live and raise a family. It also should be a great state to retire.

After a lifetime of service in their local communities, it’s a shame that retirees are forced to leave our state for financial reasons. It’s unfair to retirees, and it’s unfair to the rest of us. We need their civic involvement, knowledge, and talent.

I look forward to working with Attorney General Schmidt to implement the Retire Tax Free plan, lower the overall tax burden, and ensure all Kansans get to keep more of their hard-earned money.

Rep. Daniel Hawkins represents Kansas’s 100th District and serves as majority leader in the Kansas House of Representatives.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Competitive tax climate in Kansas would attract workers, keep retirees