In a series of unprecedented procedural moves today Kansas House Speaker Mike O’Neal and House conservatives sent a massive corporate tax break to Governor Brownback for his signature.
The tax break specifically exempts all business income passed through on individual income tax returns by corporations large and small.
Meanwhile, the poorest Kansans will actually see a tax increase.
Not that details like those were actually discussed on the House floor as Speaker O’Neal shut down debate abruptly and even refused to let some House Democrats explain their votes.
But the impact of this reckless plan will reach far beyond the offshore accounts wealthiest Kansans and the executive boardrooms of the Kansas corporations. After Governor Brownback signs this bill the other shoe will drop. Under this plan Kansas is projected to be billions of dollars in the hole within three years.
So in order to cut $3.7 Billion out of the budget before 2018 to give away in tax cuts 40% of the State General fund will be cut.
Public education will be gutted, costing teachers their jobs, forcing more schools to close and increasing class sizes for Kansas children.
State agencies will be slashed, costing state employees their jobs and asking those who remain to do more – and serve more Kansans – with dramatically less.
And absolutely nothing in this tax bill will address the tax that impacts more working families than any other: property tax. In fact this tax bill guarantees that property and sales taxes will go up across Kansas.
Look-up your representative below and find out how they voted on this tax giveaway to corporations and wealthy Kansans.
