Lawmakers in the Kansas House are making fast progress on a tax bill. Last week was only the second week of the session, but a House committee held hearings on a plan that would repeal an income tax exemption for more than 300,000 businesses.
Many lawmakers want to consider that option, but it’s not yet clear if they might pursue that by itself, or include other tax policies in the same bill. Democratic Senator Anthony Hensley wants to see a larger plan put together.
“If we repeal the LLC loophole, that is not going to solve the structural imbalance we have within our budget, so I think we need a comprehensive tax reform,” says Hensley.
Some lawmakers may also want to propose a simpler bill that would only repeal the business tax exemption. They then could look for other options, like spending cuts, to eliminate the rest of the budget shortfall. Still other lawmakers don't want any tax increases at all to balance the budget.
Governor Sam Brownback's administration argues the business tax exemption is boosting job growth and should be preserved.
There could be more work on tax legislation this week.