Few tax-cutters left on ballot

Perhaps the biggest issues in the upcoming legislative elections are the 2012 state income tax cuts and the resulting budget shortfalls. But for voters who want to send a message to the lawmakers who recklessly approved those tax cuts, there won’t be many chances.

Of 29 senators who voted for the tax cuts, only a dozen are running for re-election, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported. And of the 64 House members who backed the tax cuts, only 29 are on the Aug. 2 ballot (20 are running for the House and nine for the Senate).

Still, that’s enough lawmakers to alter the balance of the Legislature. And many of the other incumbents who weren’t in office in 2012 have been protective of the tax cuts, even as the state budget problems continue to mount.

The 2012 tax cut law lowered individual income tax rates while also reducing some tax deductions and credits that benefit low-income Kansans. Most controversially, it also eliminated state taxes on pass-through income for about 330,000 business owners.

Though Gov. Sam Brownback boasted that the tax policy would act “like a shot of adrenaline into the heart of the Kansas economy,” that hasn’t happened. Last year, Kansas had 0.5 percent job growth, the ninth worst rate in the nation.

Meanwhile, the sharp drop in tax revenue (Kansas collected about $650 million less in individual income taxes this past fiscal year than it did in 2012) has resulted in major budget problems for the state. As a result, lawmakers raised the statewide sales tax twice and increased the cigarette tax – increases that disproportionately hurt lower-income Kansans.

Also, many Kansans, especially senior citizens, had to pay more state income taxes this year because they were unable to deduct any medical expenses and were able to claim only half of their mortgage interest and their real estate and personal property taxes.

But even with these tax increases, the state still hasn’t been able to balance its budget without raiding the highway fund, spending all its cash reserves, and delaying payments to public schools and the state pension plan.

In short, it’s a mess – and voters are justified in wanting to hold accountable the lawmakers who helped cause this damage.

This story was originally published July 14, 2016 at 12:07 AM with the headline "Few tax-cutters left on ballot."