Kansas
MSNBC: Running out of Options, Brownback Revisits Tax Policy
January 20, 2015
The Politico report quoted Meg Wiehe, state policy director at the liberal-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, saying, “We’ve seen this exploding budget gap, and this year, after three years of this experience, the recognition is they have to put a halt on these tax cuts.” said Which is a polite way of […]
Lawrence Journal-World: Kansas has ninth most regressive tax code
January 16, 2015
Lower-income people in Kansas are taxed at more than twice the rate as upper-income people, according to a new report released Wednesday. The fifth edition of the “Who Pays?” study from two think tanks, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and the Kansas Center for Economic Growth, says the poorest 20 percent of […]
KSN: Kansas among “Terrible Ten” states for regressive tax systems
January 16, 2015
The 2015 report, entitled Who Pays: A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All Fifty States by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, or ITEP, claims to assess the “fairness” of state and local tax systems “by measuring the state and local taxes that will be paid in 2015 by different income groups […]
Salon: Defiant Sam Brownback vows to move toward zero income tax — and make Kansas even more unequal
January 16, 2015
“A study released this week underscores one of the most pernicious effects of such a tax regime: It exacerbates inequality. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that “[v]irtually every state’s tax system is fundamentally unfair,” with state and local taxes eating disproportionately into lower-income workers’ wages. But the effect was far worse in […]
The Wichita Eagle: Brownback will try to raise taxes to fill budget hole, but whose taxes?
January 16, 2015
“A study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy released this month concluded that households making less than $20,000 in Kansas would spend 11.1 percent of their income paying state and local taxes in 2015 primarily due to the state’s reliance on sales tax. On the other hand, households making more than $177,000 are […]
The Star-Herald: Lawmakers Should Pursue Fairness, Not Partisan Hype, in Plans for Tax Reform
December 16, 2014
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy said the bottom 20 percent of Kansas taxpayers saw their tax burden increase while the wealthiest Kansans saw their taxes decrease. With special-interest PAC money pouring into Kansas state government races, the Legislature doubled down, proposing another round of tax cuts that would eliminate income taxes and maintain […]
Washington Post: Kansas’s Midterm Election Are a Referendum on Supply-Side Economics
September 30, 2014
By Max Ehrenfraud Brownback has signed major tax breaks into law, reduced state spending and arguably made it harder for people in poverty to receive welfare. He called his initiatives “a real live experiment” in red-state governance, a choice of words he now says he regrets. “I don’t consider this an experiment,” he told The Post recently. “This is […]
Kansas City Star: Study Ranks Kansas, Missouri Fairly High in Tax Fairness
September 17, 2014
Missouri and Kansas appear to have relatively fair state and local tax systems when compared with other states, according to a study released Monday. The study by WalletHub, a personal finance website, ranked Kansas 14th for tax fairness. Missouri ranked 21st. The survey results were then compared with state and local tax burden data from […]
Kansas Center for Economic Growth: Kansas Taxes in 2013 – Who Pays?
April 15, 2014
The tax cuts in Kansas disproportionately affect our poorest residents. While the wealthiest Kansans take home enough money to purchase more than 14,000 loaves of bread, low-income families OWE more taxes, which means 125 fewer loaves of bread for them. Read the Full Report
The Washington Post: New report slams Kansas tax cuts
March 28, 2014
(Original Post) BY NIRAJ CHOKSHI March 27 at 3:22 pm In 2012, Kansas enacted one of the largest tax cuts of any state ever, and the short-term results aren’t promising, a new report finds. “Kansas is a cautionary tale, not a model,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities researchers Michael Leachman and Chris Mai write […]
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Lessons for Other States from Kansas’ Massive Tax Cuts
March 27, 2014
Tax cuts enacted in Kansas in 2012 were among the largest ever enacted by any state, and have since been held up by tax-cut proponents in other states as a model worth replicating. In truth, Kansas is a cautionary tale, not a model. As other states recover from the recent recession and turn toward the […]
The Wichita Eagle: Average Kansan probably won’t notice small dip in sales tax rate on most purchases, lawmaker says
July 1, 2013
(Original Post) By BRENT D. WISTROM Eagle Topeka bureau Published Saturday, June 29, 2013, at 5:18 p.m. TOPEKA — The state’s portion of the sales tax is about shrink a little. Today, the state would collect $31.50 in sales tax on a $500 purchase. Starting Monday, it will take 75 cents less because of a […]
US News & World Report: What’s the Matter with Kansas’ Tax Policy?
June 18, 2013
(Original Post) By Pat GarofaloJune 13, 2013 Kansas Republican Gov. Sam Brownback has presided over one of the most rightward lurches of any state in the nation, on issues such as health care, abortion and education. But the crown jewel of his administration has been a package of cuts to Kansas’ income tax – the […]
Hays Daily News: Costly session
May 30, 2013
(Original Post) 5/29/2013 With conservative super-majorities in place on both sides of the Kansas Statehouse, Gov. Sam Brownback had to have been expecting a relatively cooperative and short session this year. Rubberstamp a few more tax cuts for those who didn’t need them, a few more reductions in services for those who do need […]
Lawrence World Journal: GOP tax plans would increase taxes on low-wage Kansans, decrease taxes for high-income Kansans, report says
May 23, 2013
(Original Post) Posted by Scott Rothschild May 23, 2013 at 11:30 a.m. Topeka — Taxes will increase for low-wage Kansans and decrease for those with higher incomes under plans being considered by Republican state legislators, according to a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy looked at the various proposals before […]
The Wichita Eagle: Brownback ‘tax swap’ plan facing stiff opposition
April 22, 2013
(Original Post) By Brad CooperKansas City Star Published Sunday, April 21, 2013, at 6:54 a.m. Eliminating or slashing the income tax is a romantic idea for many politicians. Getting there is much less dreamy. Just ask Republican Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and a handful of other GOP governors who want income tax cuts but propose […]
The Kansas City Star: Kansas legislation would cost the poor most, critics say
April 15, 2013
April 12 By BRAD COOPER The Kansas City Star TOPEKA — This could be, for better or worse, the year of the poor in Kansas. The dominant powers in the Statehouse — Republicans controlling the legislative and executive branches — regularly press bold measures calculated to jet-charge the economy and put more people to work. […]
Kansas House and Senate Proposals Set the Stage for Tax Hikes on Poor and Middle-Income Families
April 2, 2013 • By Meg Wiehe
Earlier this year, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback proposed another round of personal income tax cuts (on top of those he signed into law last year).1 The House and Senate each responded with their own tax cut plans and are expected to reconcile their differences this week. To date, much attention has been given to the major difference between the House and Senate plans -- the Senate bill includes permanently preserving a sales tax rate hike that was set to expire this summer while the House plan would allow the rate hike to expire. However, the long term impact of either…
The Lawrence Journal-World: ITEP report says race to no income tax based on flawed theory
March 6, 2013
(Original Post) Sunday, March 3, 2013 By SCOTT ROTHSCHILD, The Lawrence Journal-World The effort by Gov. Sam Brownback and several other Republican governors to eliminate personal state income taxes is based on an economic theory that is “extremely flawed,” a new report by a non-partisan research group says. Brownback has depended on the claims of […]
Kansas Governor’s New Plan Increases Taxes on Poor Yet Slashes Revenue by $340 Million
February 1, 2013 • By Meg Wiehe
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback proposed, for the second straight year, major tax changes during his State of the State speech. These new changes include lowering the tax rates to 1.9 and 3.5 percent, eliminating itemized deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes paid, and raising the sales tax.
Kake TV: KS Revenue Chief Not Moved By National Tax Study
February 1, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013 Kansas Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan says he doesn’t put much stock in a recent study from a non-partisan research group suggesting the state’s tax system is unfair to the poor. Jordan said Thursday the Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy praises states that rely heavily on personal income taxes for […]
The Kansas City Star: With state tax reform, first do no harm
February 1, 2013
February 1 By MATTHEW GARDNER After a presidential election campaign during which tax fairness debates figured prominently, the battle has now emphatically shifted to the states. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, for instance, recently announced his support for a “flatter, fairer” tax code, and lawmakers in more than a dozen other states are poised to grapple […]
The Examiner: Poorer Kansans pay higher percentage of taxes than wealthier Kansans
February 1, 2013
(Original Post) January 31, 2013By: James Jordan A study by a non-partisan research group says the poorest Kansans pay a higher percentage of their income in state and local taxes than do the state’s wealthiest residents. The study, released Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, shows a national trend in this direction. The Institute on Taxation and […]
Daily Kos: The Republican Land of Oz
January 31, 2013
(Original Post) Thu Jan 31, 2013 at 05:44 AM PST I am sure that Kansas is a wonderful place, but if Leavenworth Penitentiary is your best known landmark and a fictitious 12 year old girl from the “Land of Oz” is your most famous resident…then you might want to question why you are living in […]
Wichita Eagle: Poor Kansans hit harder by taxes than rich
January 30, 2013
(Original Post) Published Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, at 9:23 a.m. TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – A new study by a non-partisan Washington research group says the poorest Kansans pay a much higher percentage of their incomes in state and local taxes than do the state’s wealthiest residents. Wednesday’s report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic […]
Institute on Taxation
and Economic Policy
ITEP is a non-profit, non-partisan tax policy organization. We conduct rigorous analyses of tax and economic proposals and provide data-driven recommendations to shape equitable and sustainable tax systems.
Subscribe to ITEP Emails
Tax research and policy news in your inbox.
Promote Fair Tax Policy
Your gift to ITEP promotes tax justice. With your help, we do research that supports taxing millionaires and billionaires, taxing big corporations and raising revenue for the things our people, our communities and our planet need.
Together, we can create a country with more economic justice, more racial justice, more climate justice… and more tax justice.