Kansas lawmakers will once again go back to the drawing board on tax cuts.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on Thursday vetoed a bill that would have cut state taxes on income, Social Security benefits and property. She supports many of the proposed cuts but says the bill’s annual $470 million price tag is unsustainable.
The governor said she will now call lawmakers back to the Statehouse for a special session to craft a new plan that costs the state no more than $425 million per year.
“The Legislature cannot over-promise tax cuts without considering the overall cost to the state for future years,” Kelly said in her veto message. “We cannot start with our expenses and then look at our income.”
With the state in good financial shape, Kelly and lawmakers from both parties have stressed tax cuts as a top priority this year, but the governor has rejected three different proposals.
The governor and both parties agree on several measures included in each bill, like reducing state property taxes and eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits, but Kelly has rejected each bill’s proposed changes to income taxes.
Republican leaders originally pursued a single-rate, “flat” income tax that would have combined the state’s three tax brackets into just one. After Kelly vetoed that bill, they pivoted to a dual-rate proposal. Kelly has maintained she prefers to keep the state’s three brackets.
After the latest tax veto on Thursday, Republican Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson described the upcoming special session as “needless and costly.”
“(Kelly’s) shifting reasons for vetoing tax relief have now morphed into the absurd,” he said in a release, “especially when the state she governs is awash with billions in surplus money that belongs to the people.”
It’s not clear when the special session might start, but Kelly says she will announce a start date next week. Republican leaders have indicated they may also pursue other legislation during the special session.
Every seat in the Kansas Legislature is up for election this November. That means many lawmakers running for reelection could be eager to reach a tax deal quickly and get back on the campaign trail.
Daniel Caudill reports on the Kansas Statehouse and government for Kansas Public Radio and the Kansas News Service. You can email him at dcaudill@ku.edu.
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