A tax cut passed by the Legislature last session is frequently talked about on the campaign trail by candidates. It will cut personal income tax rates and completely eliminate income taxes for nearly 200,000 businesses in Kansas. State Senator Tom Holland, a Democrat from Baldwin City, is being challenged by Representative Anthony Brown, of Eudora. At a debate yesterday (SUN), Holland called the tax cut unfair and said it will devastate state services.
“Would provide nearly a billion dollars a year in income tax relief for the wealthy and certain business owners in this state. The second thing we need to be aware of is this budget is that it will cause chaos for our budgeting of state services for years to come.”
Holland says it will require cuts to services like education. He says hurting education will make it harder to attract businesses to the state. But supporters of the tax plan say it will actually help grow the state’s economy and attract business to Kansas. At the debate, Brown said the state needs to tighten its belt and he criticized Holland for thinking otherwise.
“While he thinks tax cuts are bad because it puts a billion dollars back in your pocket, I don’t. I think you’re the best use of those dollars. Government has to become more efficient.”
Tune in later when we’ll have more on the debate, which included the candidates running for the 2nd Congressional District.