Brownback still views Kansas as national model

“Sam Brownback, the Kansas governor whose tax cuts brought him political turmoil, recurring budget holes and sparse evidence of economic success, has a message for President-elect Donald Trump: Do what I did.” That’s the opening paragraph of a recent Wall Street Journal article on how Brownback still views his tax policy as a national model. Republicans in Congress are considering significantly lowering business tax rates as part of a federal tax overhaul, but they are unlikely to go as far as Brownback and eliminate taxes on pass-through business income, the article said. Even tax-cut advocate Stephen Moore warned that some Kansas businesses reorganized and shifted income to avoid paying taxes. “Sometimes it was legitimate,” he said, “and sometimes it was a gaming of the tax system to pay the zero rate, so that loophole has to be closed.” – Phillip Brownlee