Governor Sam Brownback is defending the tax package that was wrestled through the Kansas Legislature in the final hours of the session. He says when viewed in the big picture, the $400 million in tax increases passed to balance the budget really aren’t increases. He says Kansans’ overall tax burden will still be lower than it was prior to the 2012 income tax cuts that he championed.
Critics say Brownback’s claim is misleading. They say many low and middle-income Kansans will end up paying more in sales tax than they save due to the income tax cuts. And they say that Kansas’s tax system – which was already the 9th most regressive in the country – will now be even more unfair.