Ty Masterson: Kansans deserve Republicans’ tax plan, not election year politics | Opinion

Ronald Reagan famously said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.’”

A recent study by United Van Lines revealed that Kansas ranks eighth in the country for out-migration, or people leaving a state. People of all ages are moving for better jobs and better opportunities.

The fact that so many people are leaving Kansas is closely related to the fact our state ranks 39th in economic performance as described in the publication “Rich States Poor States,” largely because of a complicated and progressive tax structure that taxes people too much.

The result is a one-two punch to Kansas: Too many people are leaving our state and those who remain are saddled with the same failed tax structure that causes the problem in the first place. Bidenflation — which is a perpetual hidden tax on all of us — has only added to this burden.

Government created each of these problems by trying and failing to spend our way to prosperity and by treating the people’s money like its own. Recent surveys demonstrate the vast majority of Kansans understand that if we want people moving to our great state — and then remain here to start a business, raise a family or even retire — the goal must be to make taxes simpler and lower for all.

That’s why last April, we crafted a compromise plan that would have lowered taxes on every Kansan and reformed our tax structure so those moving trucks would start to turn around. If that plan had become law, the state sales tax on food would already be gone; property taxes would be lower; the income tax on Social Security would be history and every single Kansan would be paying less in income taxes.

Instead, Gov. Laura Kelly chose to veto, and we missed an override by just one vote because of the political gamesmanship by a pair of state senators. Last week, she used those same two senators as election-year props in a hyperpartisan press conference that was intended to score political points, rather than reaching across the aisle in a genuine effort to find compromise with a near supermajority of the Republican Legislature.

Kansans expect us to lead, even when it’s an election year. That’s why this week, Republicans in the Legislature are unveiling our revised tax plan that is an additional step toward the governor from last year’s compromise tax plan. Its provisions include eliminating the income tax on Social Security, accelerating the elimination of the state sales tax on food and reducing property taxes on every Kansan. It is built for the future, containing adjustments for inflation so the benefits don’t diminish over time and includes a simpler tax structure that would essentially have two rates: 0% on the first portion of every Kansan’s income, and one 5.25% rate after that.

While we would prefer that 5.25% rate be lower — the state Senate proposed 4.7% last year — we recognize that the governor and her allies want to keep your income taxes as high as possible. However, this would be a substantial step forward. It would lower taxes on every Kansan immediately, while moving us towards a simpler, fairer and lower tax structure that would set our state on course for real and sustainable economic growth in the future.

Now that the political show from the first week is behind us, we invite the governor to work with us on a genuine compromise. Kansans deserve tax relief and it’s time to deliver.

Ty Masterson is president of the Kansas Senate.