TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A new fiscal forecast for Kansas has slashed the state's projected tax collections by $348 million for the current and next fiscal years. The new forecast drafted Wednesday would leave the state with budget shortfalls totaling more than $290 million. The figures were included in documents prepared by legislative researchers ahead of a Wednesday evening Statehouse news conference and obtained by The Associated Press from another source. The forecasters reduced the projection for total tax collections for the current fiscal year by $177 million, or 2.9 percent, to about $5.86 billion. They also cut the estimate for the next fiscal year that begins in July by nearly $171 million, or 2.7 percent, to $6.04 billion. Governor Sam Brownback's budget director planned to outline budget-balancing proposals during the news conference.
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