Governor Sam Brownback says he’s doesn’t want to reverse business tax cuts to help balance the state’s budget. Those comments came during a press conference at the Kansas Statehouse. As KPR’s Stephen Koranda reports, the budget lawmakers are currently considering could require more than $100 million in new revenue to balance.
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When the state passed the first round of tax cuts a few years ago, the bill eliminated income taxes for thousands of Kansas businesses. Brownback says that was the right move.
“I don’t want to go back on the small business tax where we’ve gone to zero taxes on small business because that’s worked well on job creation in the state,” says Brownback.
But he’s willing to cancel scheduled future income tax cuts for individuals.
“I still want to get away from the income tax, but I think we’re in a situation where we need to have some stability on these two years,” says Brownback.
Brownback has also proposed raising tobacco and alcohol taxes to help balance the budget.
Lawmakers are waiting until after their spring break, when they’ll have updated revenue projections, to finish their tax and budget work.