NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Dave Trabert with the Kansas Policy Institute acknowledges the work the legislature did in the special session Tuesday, but there is more that could have been done.
"It cuts it to two rates, it increases, there's an amount of, it's called a deduction exemption, but basically it exempts the first $9,000 for single filers and $18,000 family from being taxed," Trabert said. "That's how you prevent people that were in the bottom bracket from having a tax increase. Everybody gets a tax cut, it's not a great big tax cut, it's not what the economy needed, but it's better than nothing. It also exempts social security income from taxation, and there is a small property tax benefit in that instead of about $42,000 being exempt from the 20 mills, it goes up to $75,000."
Trabert said this kind of tax cut doesn't really do much to help the broader economy.
"Kansas is in its fifth straight decade of economic stagnation," Trabert said. "We keep falling farther and farther behind the nation in job growth and economic activity. And just to put that in perspective, if we had kept up with the national average of job growth since 1979, we'd have about 450,000 more jobs here today. It's a big difference trailing this national average and we keep getting worse. So it's not just taxes, but taxes are a big piece. What we need to do, the legislature, is look at the reasons why we are so uncompetitive, and that's going to come down to three main things. It's taxes, it's utility rates, and it's regulatory issues. You have to start removing those negatives in order to stop the transition."
One area that the state is struggling with right now is property taxes going up. It happens generally with valuation increases. There is a way to fix that, but it wasn't addressed Tuesday.
"In 2023, the Senate passed a constitutional amendment provision that would limit the annual valuation increase to 4%, and that needs to be done," Trabert said. "There was a hearing yesterday in the Senate, or on Monday rather, but they wouldn't take a floor vote, and the House wouldn't touch it. I don't know why, because it is something that taxpayers really need, and we have to keep coming back and pushing for that."
There is an election cycle for both the House and Senate before they return in January, so it remains to be seen what the makeup of the 2025 legislature will be and whether any further tax reductions can happen.
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