Kan. House approves bill raising state’s sales tax to bolster budget, sending it to governor

Kan. House passes sales tax hike, sends it to gov.

TOPEKA, Kan. — An increase in Kansas’ sales tax cleared the Legislature early Tuesday morning, a change that will force consumers to pay more for groceries and other items to protect public schools and government services from cuts.

The House voted 64-61 for a bill boosting the 5.3 percent sales tax to 6.3 percent on July 1, when the state’s next fiscal year begins. The action sent the measure to Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson because the Senate approved it Saturday.

Parkinson is expected to sign the bill, having urged the Republican-controlled Legislature to raise taxes to protect aid to public schools and state programs. Also, a $13.6 billion budget approved by legislators for the next fiscal year won’t balance without the $314 million in revenues from the tax increase.

“The bipartisan, balanced budget on its way to my desk reflects the values and priorities of Kansans,” Parkinson said in a written statement. “No tax is a good tax, but a penny is a small price to pay for a state as great as ours.”

With the tax bill approved, legislators expected to wrap up their business Tuesday, their 89th day in session, one short of what their leaders had scheduled.

The proposed state budget won House approval Saturday, after an 18-hour debate. Senators approved it Monday.

Parkinson had said he wouldn’t accept significant cuts in education funding, social services or other programs, following multiple rounds of reductions last year.

Democrats and moderate Republicans in both chambers agreed with his argument that additional reductions would be crippling. They drafted both the proposed budget — preserving education funding and other programs — and the bill raising the sales tax.

But conservative Republicans argued that raising taxes wasn’t necessary, would hurt working families and would keep the state’s economy in a recession longer. Both the budget and the tax increase passed over their objections.

“I think we’re taxed enough,” said Rep. Joe Patton, a Topeka Republican. “In this debate, the taxpayer has become the forgotten person.”

Not only does Kansas levy its sales tax on clothing, appliances, computers, cars and other items, it is one of 15 states to impose such a tax on groceries.

But Parkinson noted that Kansas’ sales tax will remain at 6.3 percent through June 2013, then drop to 5.7 percent, with some of the remaining revenues diverted to highway projects.

“The 1-cent sales tax is a temporary solution which prevents permanent damage to our children’s education, our communities’ public safety and the care we provide to vulnerable citizens,” Parkinson said.

But the House Republican leaders, conservatives who opposed raising taxes, said the potential damage to schools and government programs was greatly overstated by supporters of a tax increase.

House GOP leaders proposed a budget that would balance without a tax increase. On Monday, they backed off a plan that would have reduced aid to public schools in favor of one that would have raised the necessary money by selling unused state buildings, land and other property.

They called a meeting of the House Appropriations Committee, which endorsed such a proposal. The Senate responded by approving the bipartisan budget that had cleared the House earlier.

“We tried to be responsible but were ignored,” said Rep. Peggy Mast, an Emporia Republican.

Senate President Steve Morris, a Hugoton Republican, said his chamber didn’t have the appetite for further cuts and didn’t want to delay the end of the Legislature’s session.

“We felt like we needed to go ahead and get everything finished,” Morris said.

But one budget measure still awaited action in the House, a Senate-passed plan for a nursing home “bed tax” of up to $1,950 a year.

It would raise about $30 million a year, but more importantly, it could attract an additional $56 million in federal funds. All of the funds would be returned to the homes to offset past budget cuts.

Sales tax increase is Senate Sub for HB 2360. Proposed budget is House Sub for SB 572.

On the Net:

Kansas Legislature: www.kslegislature.org

Kansas governor: www.governor.ks.gov