Tax & Spending

Budget deficit remains as recession fears grow 0
- Tax & Spending
- August 26, 2019
In mid-August, a national warning sign flashed red, sparking stock market turmoil and possibly suggesting the next U.S. recession is roughly two years away. If true, then Kansas’s government is woefully unprepared given its $1 billion-plus deficit. Headlines reported an inverted yield curve**, where the interest rates (yield) on short-term bonds are higher than interest rates paid
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Local gov’t. has biggest share of $3 billion property tax hike 0
- Tax & Spending
- August 19, 2019
Of the nearly $3 billion increase in property tax between 1997 and 2018, the largest share, about $1.7 billion, was consumed by local government entities (cities, counties, townships, and other local taxing districts. Education accounted for the next largest increase, of about $1.3 billion, which is mostly K-12 and community colleges. The data comes from
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Kansas Tax Increase Unfairly Burdens The Poor 0
- Tax & Spending
- August 12, 2019
The fall in consumer spending has local officials puzzled; there’s a reason why Kansans are buying fewer things at the register. Not surprisingly, counties with declines in consumer shopping also have hiked property taxes. Couple that with the state income tax increase, and the collective tax burden on Kansas families (especially low-income) has increased by
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Local officials learning tax hikes doom consumer spending 0
- Tax & Spending
- August 1, 2019
City and county officials in Johnson County recently told the Kansas City Star they are ‘puzzled’ by sluggish sales tax collections and consumer spending. They shouldn’t be. Local officials should realize the obvious. Kansans are dealing with their third consecutive year of state income tax hikes. Local officials also raised property taxes, and tax increases
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Record-setting levels of Freedom in Kansas Legislature 0
- Education, Tax & Spending
- July 29, 2019
The results of our 2019 Kansas Freedom Index show freedom in Kansas is on the march…at least in the Kansas Legislature. The 2019 Kansas Freedom Index set records for high scores with 52 legislators scoring at least 86%. That’s good news. The results also confirmed what we’ve known for years – party identification has very
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Three Signs of Kansas Government Growth 0
- Tax & Spending
- July 11, 2019
How much government is too much for Kansas? Three straight years of income tax increases are sending the state budget to another historical high. However, three signs suggest that bigger is not always better. Three signs; jobs, personal income, and purchases, that link government growth to a stagnant Kansas economy. The legislature approved, and the
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