After the Kansas House unanimously approved a bipartisan tax bill this week, changes are likely coming from Senate leadership during conference committee this week.
Manhattan State Sen. Usha Reddi says the fiscal note on Senate Bill 300 is too expensive, at close to $500 million per year. Her major frustration has been that she believes there are many good pieces that could easily be voted on individually.
“For example existing social security, income from individual income tax, we all agree on that one. I wish we could just pull each of these out and vote on them separately instead of having five or six wonderful bills under one big tax plan,” she said.
One of the key distinctions of the House approved bill is the creation of a dual-rate state income tax model, with Kansans earning less than $7,000 no longer paying state income tax, while those making between $7,000 and $30,000 would see rates fall from 5.25 to 5.2%. Those making more than $30,000 would see a reduction from 5.7 to 5.65%. Reddi says it could be seen as a good compromise from the initial plans for a single-rate plan, which was vetoed by the governor.
“It’s hard to say. Sometimes it’s like a reality show and I’m just a part of it, one small part of it,” Reddi said.
“I don’t know what exactly it’s going to look like. All I do know is that we are going to have a tax plan, a tax plan that will give tax relief, income tax, property tax and sales tax (relief).”
Senate Bill 300 would see the standard deduction on state income taxes raised 3%, the elimination of the state’s 2% sales tax on food on July 1 rather than Jan. 1 and lowering of the state’s property tax for K-12 schools from 20 to 18 mills.
The Kansas Senate took action this past week on a number of bills, including some controversial items, tied to abortion rights and gender-affirming care.
One of those bills would require Kansas abortion providers to ask their patients why they want to terminate their pregnancies. Responses would be reported to the state. The Senate passed the measure on a 27-13 vote Tuesday. Sen. Reddi voted against House Bill 2749, saying reproductive rights are too important.
“I think this is a backdoor way to somehow make sure you are rethinking everything, having self-doubt, also making yourself feel guilty, making it feel very intrusive into your life about thinking even do this. I think we need to move away from that,” Reddi said.
Kansas legislators also advanced a measure that would ban gender-affirming health care for minors to Gov. Laura Kelly, who vetoed a similar measure last year. Reddi says she’s worried about Kansas making the news for the “wrong reasons” when it comes to inclusivity.
“We want to be a loving state that embraces everybody that’s here, and try to remove barriers that make it harder to live for some of these individuals,” she said.
The legislature appears to have the necessary votes to override a veto on Senate Bill 233, after the Senate passed it 27-13 and the House passed it 82-39.
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