Kansas taxpayers could soon be paying a flat 5.25 percent income tax rate after the House approved a bill that would create a new single-tiered system for filers.
The measure would replace the current three-tiered bracket system. The lowest wage earners, including single tax filers making less than $6,150 or married couples filing jointly and earning less than $12,300 would be exempt. Under current law, single tax filers making less than $15,000 and married couples earning less than $30,000 pay a 3.1% rate.
Manhattan 66th District State Rep. Sydney Carlin says she couldn’t support the bill in its current form, despite much compromise from Republicans and Democrats.
Manhattan 67th District State Rep. Mike Dodson supported the measure, noting it has been amended since moving through the two chambers.
Other provisions of the bill include lowering property taxes by exempting all residential property valued up to $80,000, up from the current $40,000 threshold and eliminating the state’s food sales tax by the end of the year.
The bill has advanced to a conference committee where the final details of the bill will be hashed out.
The House recently passed House Substitute for Senate Bill 113 which essentially bundles school funding with policy, much of it politically driven, targeted at public schools. House Democrats have raised objections because of the exclusion of nearly $600 million in special education programs and the fact that the bill would eliminate school district authority to purchase Narcan for student drug overdoses.
House Republicans have been pushing House Substitute for Senate Bill 83, which would establish the Sunflower Education Equity Act, creating a voucher-like system for private schools. State Rep. Sydney Carlin says it’s an unnecessary attack on public education.
Carlin voted against House Substitute for Senate Bill 113, which passed on a 75-48 vote March 23. State Rep. Mike Dodson voted for it, noting test scores across the state have been down, with Manhattan being an exception among a majority of Kansas public schools. He spoke to some of the highlights of the bill.
The bill also will be examined by a conference committee before it proceeds further.
Rep. Carlin and Rep. Dodson appeared on KMAN’s In Focus Friday to recap the busy week in the Kansas Legislature. The full interview is available here.
