A state Senate panel is looking at a proposal to reinstate income taxes on small businesses as part of an effort to eliminate the Kansas budget shortfall estimated at more than $400 million dollars. Senate committee chairman Republican Les Donovan’s plan also would include hikes on sales and gasoline taxes. Donovan wants to get the measure onto the Senate floor, but he says, members are far from an agreement on how to deal with the deficit.
In the House, Republican Steve Brunk also put forth a plan that would mostly use tax hikes to offset the deficit. Brunk’s plan would hike the sales tax by a full percentage point to 7.15 percent but an early attempt to pass it was voted down by the committee. Critics said it would put too much of the burden on lower and middle income people.
