The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City says farm income has taken a sharp drop in the region, and that drop is affecting the state budget in Kansas. State officials have sharply lowered forecasts for tax collections.
Raney Gilliland is director of the Kansas Legislative Research Department. He says the farm income drop isn’t really affecting income tax collections, but it is giving farmers less money to spend and that hurts sales tax collections.
“I think farmers are –as with many Kansans– are notorious for knowing how to tighten the belt when it’s warranted,” says Gilliland.
Gilliland says they expected some impact from farm income and commodity price drops, but the actual effect on tax collections turned out to be greater than anticipated.