Kansas Democratic Governor on Collision Course with GOP Legislature
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Kansas Democratic Governor Laura Kelly says a package of tax-cut bills recently approved by the Republican-controlled Senate would trigger a budget crisis. In her budget address at the start of the session, Kelly warned lawmakers that she would likely veto any "irresponsible” tax-cuts. That warning, she says, was meant to stop lawmakers from sending her bills like the ones now working their way through the GOP-controlled Legislature. “Yeah, I’d have to quantify those as irresponsible," she said. The bills, which are now in the Kansas House, would make all retirement benefits tax free. Scrap the state’s three-tiered income tax for a flat tax. And remove state and local sales taxes from groceries by the first of next year. Combined, they would reduce state revenue by approximately $1 billion a year. Republicans say a growing budget surplus means Kansas can afford to make its tax system fairer and more competitive with other states.
The governor also says she’s strongly opposed to bills under consideration in the Legislature that, in her view, would undermine public schools. She's particularly concerned about a measure that would require the state to give qualifying families $5,000 to help cover the cost of private school tuition or home schooling. “I am adamant that public dollars should be spent on public schools," she said. Another proposal would expand a tax credit for Kansans who...
This story is the second in an ongoing series on the Cost of Fraud, as Open the Books tallies the hidden fees on American tax returns. Click here to read the first story on fraudulent autism billi...