Flat tax, quicker food tax elimination ‘done’ in Kansas after Senate fails to override veto

Kansas will not see a flat tax this year or a quicker elimination of the food sales tax after the Kansas Senate failed to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of the policy.

The Senate voted 26 to 13, missing the two thirds majority needed to override a veto by just one vote.

Kelly vetoed the bill earlier this week, warning that the imposition of a 5.15% flat income tax would damage the state’s budget and force cuts to schools and other state programs.

“Today, the senate sided with balanced budgets and strong public schools. But the tax discussion shouldn’t end here. Now, the legislature should pass my plan to provide a $450 rebate to every Kansas taxpayer,” Kelly said in a statement following the vote. In a press conference Monday Kelly presented the rebates as a better use of Kansas’ surplus because the state wouldn’t have to continue to fund it as revenues decrease.

The flat tax had been a top priority of GOP leadership in the Legislature this year who argued the tax would simplify the state’s tax code and encourage more investment in the state.

Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, said Wednesday he had voted to provide much needed relief to Kansas’ working poor who would save money on food and income tax and for retirees.

“I’ve been pretty clear that was the compromise,” Masterson said. “We’re done for taxes. I think it’s unfortunate that Kansans aren’t going to see the benefit.”

But Kelly and her allies in the Legislature called the cut regressive. Though it provided a tax cut for all Kansans, the largest cuts would be seen by Kansas’ highest earners rather than low income residents.

“We’re at the point in our budget and fiscal responsibility coming out of the Brownback years where we need to be cautious,” said Rep. Jeff Pittman, a Leavenworth Democrat.

Kelly warned the bill would have caused cuts to public education and other state services, but Republicans supporting the bill said the argument fell flat in a year with a large budget surplus.

“We have found time and again ways in which to help schools,” said Sen. Molly Baumgardner, a Louisburg Republican and chair of the Senate Education Committee.