House negotiators withdraw bill repealing Brownback tax policy

Shifting sands of political negotiation on a bill increasing Kansas taxes Thursday claimed a new victim — Senate Bill 30 — after House negotiators withdrew an offer to the Senate for simultaneous votes on nearly full repeal of tax cuts signed five years ago by Gov. Sam Brownback.

Aggressive reductions in personal income taxes and exemption on income taxes granted owners of 330,000 businesses in 2012 have combined with weakness in the Kansas economy to shape a state tax revenue shortfall of $900 million in the next two years.

The 2017 Legislature has tried since January to craft a bill that generated enough revenue to address the deficit and meet core obligations to education and other sectors.

Rep. Steven Johnson, the House’s top Republican negotiator on taxes, proposed the Legislature consider a deal rolling back Brownback’s signature supply-side economic tax agenda but retaining the 6.5 percent statewide sales tax adopted in 2015.

Read more: http://cjonline.com/state-government/local-government/news/2017-05-18/house-negotiators-withdraw-bill-repealing