Taxes

SENSIBLE TAX POLICY MAKES A DIFFERENCE. Children can thrive when their basic needs are met. Through our tax dollars, Kansans support kids and families who otherwise would go without. That’s why tax policy matters — it impacts every Kansan, business, and community. 

We saw what happened in 2012 when ideology got in the way of common sense: schools, hospitals, and vital infrastructure all paid the price. We can’t afford to return to those trying times.

KAC advocates for equitable tax policies, which prioritize opportunity and stability for every Kansas family, regardless of race, income, zip code, identity, or ability. We believe the answers to practical questions about taxes — like how high or low should they be, who should pay and how much, and what should be taxed — flow from strong and equitable principles. These are broadly recognized as the foundation of a system that works.

Kansas Must Invest in Families, Not Go Back to Failed Tax Experiments

Kansas has faced challenging years in the recent past, including the fallout of a failed tax experiment and complications resulting from the pandemic. However, current state revenue projections look promising and provide an opportunity for state lawmakers to prioritize Kansas families and those most vulnerable to economic insecurity.

While a bipartisan majority of lawmakers reversed much of the ill-fated tax experiment in 2017, there are still policy improvements needed. For one, the individual income tax rate remains lower than before the tax experiment when the highest individual income tax rate was reduced from 6.45% to 5.70% in 2017 and further reduced to 5.58% during the 2024 special session.

The number of income brackets also decreased from three to two. Policies like this make the income tax more regressive – placing a higher burden on the middle class – and leave the overall tax system less elastic, reducing the state’s ability to weather economic shocks. They are also patently unfair; the tax brackets put in place during the 2024 special session do not distinguish between an individual income single tax filer making $23,001 and one making $1 million.

Second, the tax experiment removed credits for working families, including the refundable food sales tax credit and allowing renters to access the Homestead Property Tax Credit.

Kansas lawmakers finally addressed the high (and regressive) state-level sales tax on food in the 2022 session by passing a bill that will gradually decrease the state-level sales tax until it reaches full elimination in 2025. During the 2024 special session, lawmakers provided additional relief to thousands of Kansas families by increasing the state match of the federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) from 25% to 50%.

However, lawmakers have not yet reinstated renters as beneficiaries of the Homestead Property Tax Credit, especially unfortunate given current housing and rental inflation and an often inaccessible and inadequate housing market.

Unfortunately, the 2024 Legislature was unable to implement a state child tax credit (CTC) despite appetite for such a policy among several lawmakers. The expansion of the CDCTC was a big win for thousands of families across the state, but there are many families that do not have child care costs and still face the economic struggle of raising a family.

With a historic surplus, now is the time to invest in Kansas children and families and ensure the state’s tax code is equitable with every Kansas resident paying their fair share. Kansas lawmakers must avoid calls for risky policy changes that could lead to long-term state fiscal instability and instead continue to make investments in the state that will lead to future economic growth.

Policy Solutions

For many working Kansas families, even with full-time employment, it is a struggle to make ends meet with the increasing costs of housing, child care, and basic necessities. Lawmakers can do more to address the needs of Kansas families, while also ensuring Kansas has a stable revenue stream. We want our state to make investments in Kansas families, fund existing and vital programs (including schools, health care, and services for every Kansan), and protect against economic downturns.

To achieve this, we urge lawmakers to:

• Implement a state-level child tax credit so Kansas families can meet their immediate financial obligations like housing, food, and child care.

• Address high property taxes and their impact on increasing rental costs by reinstating the Homestead Property Tax credit to renters.

• Help families invest in their child’s future and offset the growing cost of higher education through the establishment of a state-sponsored children’s savings account program.

• Avoid risky tax policy, especially constitutional restrictions and flat tax proposals, that would make it harder for the state to pay its bills and improve Kansas residents’ quality of life, including in areas of education, infrastructure, public safety, water and agricultural protections, and other investments that help our communities thrive.