TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas legislators have drafted a new plan for raising taxes to close a budget shortfall that’s similar to one the Senate already has rejected.
The plan agreed to Sunday by three Senate and three House negotiators would raise $423 million during the fiscal year that begins July 1. That’s more than enough to balance the budget.
The plan would increase the state’s sales tax to 6.55 percent from 6.15 percent and boost the cigarette tax by 50 cents a pack to $1.29.
It would raise $24 million during the next fiscal year by raising taxes on business owners. More than 330,000 business owners and farmers don’t have to pay income taxes on their profits under a 2012 policy.
The Senate rejected a plan with those three elements Saturday.
