Kansas views on state tax increase, Whitmer crying
Tax increase – When is the biggest tax increase in Kansas history not a tax increase at all? When it happens in Gov. Sam Brownback’s world. The Republican indicated as much last week when he claimed a tax plan crafted to help fill a massive budget hole wasn’t actually a tax increase because his 2012 income tax cuts have some Kansans paying less taxes overall – although only the wealthy are coming out ahead. Regardless of Brownback’s spin, there’s only one way to label raising the sales tax (including food) from 6.15 to 6.5 percent, and adding a 50-cent tax on cigarettes, among other taxing changes.
When Gov. Sam Brownback reduced income taxes back in 2012 and 2013, those were “cuts,” and something he repeatedly bragged about. But last Tuesday when he signed a state budget that dramatically increased taxes, that was ... what? A “revenue enhancement”? To call this Orwellian-speak is an insult to Orwellian-speak. To call it painfully laughable is more accurate.
The governor can spin it, color it, dress it up and put lipstick on it, but no matter how he tries to disguise it, this is a tax increase. It’s a lot of tax increase, and it’s not the first one Kansans have endured to finance his pie-in-the-sky idea that eliminating income tax cuts is a magical elixir that soothes all pains.
Gov. Sam Brownback’s techniques might be deplorable, but most-assuredly effective. His bluff to decimate higher education’s funding got university presidents lobbying for the new tax increase. Real estate agents were swayed by a new law handcuffing local governments’ ability to raise sufficient revenue. The Kansas Chamber of Commerce offered a pass for this year as long as its wishes were tended to next session. The Legislature could have stood firm and demanded a progressive approach to tax policy, but it didn’t. Instead, we’ve piled an even bigger load on the shoulders of those who can afford it the least.
No one in the Legislature or the Governor’s Office should be congratulating themselves on this year’s legislative session or the manner in which the final tax bills eventually were passed. The financial crisis that hit Kansas this year had been developing for years, ever since the passage of large income tax reductions started to erode state revenues. Faced with that crisis, Kansans were hoping to see some rational thinking and real leadership in Topeka. Unfortunately, they got little of either.
Whitmer crying – The image of a grown legislator sobbing in the middle of the night would be poignant if it weren’t so symbolically wretched. Surely Rep. John Whitmer, R-Wichita, didn’t tear up during the early morning House debate for the Kansas single mom who’ll have to pay more in sales taxes to put food on her family’s table and shoes on her children’s feet. Or for the welder whose tire popped in a highway pothole, which went unfilled because of warped state priorities. Perhaps he issued tears of joy for his lawyer and business buddies who will keep their zero income tax lifestyle intact. Have another round on the Kansas House!
This story was originally published June 21, 2015 at 7:07 PM with the headline "Kansas views on state tax increase, Whitmer crying."