Annie McKay: State better off before tax cuts

How much are the unprecedented tax changes helping the average Kansan? Not a lot.

Despite claims that tax policies are “putting more money in people’s pockets,’’ we’re actually seeing a slowdown in the growth of personal income compared with before the changes were signed into law.

Recently, Gov. Sam Brownback touted his tax policies as having raised the incomes of all Kansans (“Tax policy growing Kansas,” April 29 Opinion). But there’s a problem with the figure discussed. The median income figure is a two-year average that includes both 2012 and 2013 – and the new tax changes didn’t go into full effect until 2013. This means we can’t see how median income in Kansas grew before and then after the changes took effect.

Measuring growth in raw terms doesn’t tell the whole story. While it’s true that the median income grew by more than $2,000 in the period straddling the new tax policy, that doesn’t mean most Kansans are outearning our counterparts around the country. In fact, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, we ranked in the bottom half of states (27th overall) and our income was about $700 less than the U.S. median income.

A better way to measure the progress and the prosperity of Kansas families is personal income. It’s the same measure used by the state’s own Consensus Revenue Estimating Group.

Using Bureau of Economic Analysis data, personal income growth between January 2010 and December 2012 (before the tax changes went into effect) and from January 2013 to December 2014 (after the new tax policies went into effect and the most recent available data) shows that Kansas has fallen behind in comparison with other states. Before the tax changes went into effect, Kansas’ personal income growth ranked 13th overall. After the changes were enacted, Kansas’ personal income growth fell to 32nd.

It’s clear the new tax policy isn’t creating a windfall for the average Kansan. Additionally, it appears this trend will continue, as economists from around the state have lowered our projected personal income growth from 4.2 to 3.4 percent for 2015.

This comes on top of all the other consequences Kansans will suffer, such as roads and bridges left to deteriorate as we make alarming transfers from our highway funds to plug other budget holes. Or the drop in support for education. Or reductions to programs and services that keep Kansans healthy and safe.

If the new tax policies are bettering Kansans’ lives, why are the statistics – and their pockets – telling a different story?

This story was originally published May 4, 2015 at 7:05 PM with the headline "Annie McKay: State better off before tax cuts."