The Kansas Chamber of Commerce says that in the 2014 legislative session, it will push to protect recently-enacted tax cuts. The organization released a survey today (TUE) of businesses in the state, showing that 57 percent of businesses say the taxes they pay are too high. Former Kansas House Speaker Mike O’Neal is the president and CEO of the Kansas Chamber. He says some businesses may not have felt the impact of recent tax cuts yet.
A spokesman for the group that conducted the poll says the result may have something to do with the ongoing debate on Kansas taxes in recent years. All the tax talk may have spurred business owners to examine the taxes they pay more closely.
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Most businesses in Kansas no longer pay state income taxes - and the Kansas Chamber of Commerce wants to keep it that way. The chamber has released its list of legislative priorities for the upcoming session and among them is a goal of preserving such tax cuts. Critics say the cuts are leading to budget problems and reductions in state services. KPR’s Stephen Koranda reports.
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In recent years, Kansas has passed personal income tax rate cuts and also completely eliminated income taxes for nearly 200,000 businesses. But at the same time the state also cancelled part of a scheduled sales tax reduction. Of the business leaders polled, 57 percent said the state and local taxes they pay are too high. That’s an increase of 7 percentage points over last year. Former Kansas House Speaker Mike O’Neal is the president and CEO of the Kansas Chamber. He says they aren’t stopping their work on taxes.
“We hear some arguments out there that this was a mistake and we ought to undo it. Not only should we play defense and make sure that’s not undone, we need to keep plowing ahead, and our business community is telling us that,” says O'Neal.
A spokesman for the group that conducted the poll says the debate over taxes may have led to part of the increase, because it may have caused business leaders to look at the taxes they pay more closely.