House Speaker Hawkins: Despite Gov. Kelly veto, flatter tax plan will return | Commentary

As I talk to constituents, I continually hear that Kansans have a little less jingle in their pockets and are feeling the squeeze in their household budgets and savings.

To counter the effects of inflation, legislators worked the entire 2023 session to craft a comprehensive and sustainable tax relief plan that Kansans can rely on for financial planning, and at the same time prioritizes the long-term financial well-being of state finances.

This sensible bill dropped the food sales tax to zero in an effort to meet the Kelly/Toland Administration in the middle.

Republican legislators included the administration’s food sales tax plan, plus the tax relief priorities most consistently championed by Kansas taxpayers: property tax relief, income tax relief, an improved and more simple tax code, and tax relief for seniors on Social Security.

Care was taken at every turn to ensure the tax cuts were vetted within the proper legislative process, with bipartisan input, throughout the entire four-month session.

The original tax relief legislation passed the House overwhelmingly with a 94-30 bipartisan vote; meaning 10 Democratic representatives crossed party lines to support the plan, including minority party leadership.

Concentrated efforts continued to be made in conference with the Senate to certify the relief was fiscally responsible long-term.

Negotiations for a single income tax rate went back and forth between the two chambers with the Senate presenting a rate of 4.75% and the House supporting a 5.25% rate.

The reasonable compromise of 5.15% was settled upon because it would provide relief to Kansans at all income levels.

This minor adjustment to the House tax package during negotiations changed the final vote count slightly, but the bill still passed the House with a super-majority of votes.

That’s why it was shocking to see the Kelly/Toland Administration, with a stroke of the veto pen, brazenly ax the bipartisan tax relief bill when folks need it most.

The out-of-touch Administration then dropped a one-time rebate as a replacement; as if a single check is comparable to a broad and fully-vetted plan addressing the tax challenges Kansans struggle with most.

Spoiler alert: It’s not.

Following the Kelly/Toland tax relief veto, people asked why the tax plan couldn’t be “unbundled” to allow the Administration to pick their preferences.

That answer is best explained by comparing the thorough tax-relief plan and state budget to the similar nature of a household budget.

When planning a family budget, you don’t keep separate spreadsheets for grocery costs, utilities, and gas expenses.

Instead, each of these items are kept together so overall income and spending can be monitored to make sure you don’t go over budget.

The state budget is done the same way.

The state budget is determined by a couple of budget bills and it makes sense that a tax bill would be done the same way.

The relationship between revenue and spending is a big math problem and if something gets out of sync, the Kansas taxpayers pay the price.

That’s why a sound and sustainable tax plan like the one passed in the Legislature can take all session to create and fully vet.

In the end, Gov. Laura Kelly waited until the last possible day to veto the tax bill and responded with a tax-rebate gimmick, with no consideration for long-term tax relief that could help Kansans plan for a future in our state.

Instead, the Kelly/Toland Administration axed tax relief and offered only a short-term sugar high in return.

Kansans want more than a gimmicky quick fix, and that’s why long-term sustainable tax relief will be priority No. 1 when the Legislature returns next session.