Sam Brownback trimmed personal income taxes in 2011, when he became the governor of Kansas, on the vow that tax cuts would fuel recruitment as well as business expansion. However, the reduction strategy failed to provide the expected outcome, pushing the state budget into a gloomy condition. The same Republicans who aided the governor to pass his tax cut plan are now declining to aid him in promoting his spending cut idea.
The Republicans want Brownback to either reconsider tax reduction or to formulate the budget balancing methodology himself. Tax collections declined below its estimated range during the 11 months of 2015. Most conservative allies of Brownback want him to pull off the tax reduction plans in order save the state budget.
Previously, Brownback had promised to trim individual income tax rate by 29%, as well as release over 330,000 business and farm proprietors from income tax. The move by Brownback nailed tax collections in the state, which declined nearly 1.9%, or $81 million lower than the present outlook since November.
Lawmakers in Kansas are more anxious regarding the approval of additional cuts during an election year. While Democrats have called the governor's tax reduction plan as thoughtless, Republicans want to cancel the reduction policy for entrepreneurs and farmers in order to raise $200 million - $250 million additionally in a year. Eileen Hawley, a spokeswoman, told abcNEWS that Brownback will reveal options for budget balancing later.
Meanwhile, Kansas Forest Service that is fighting the state's biggest wildfire will need to pay over $15,000 to the state as part of the governor's reduction policy, which demanded all state universities to trim 3%. The agency depended heavily on federal government funds, but received a smaller amount from the state, ksn.com said, quoting John Biles, director of Kansas Forest Service. He noted that the agency needs to reduce its traveling and lodging expenses.
Jeff King, Kansas Senate Vice President, has proposed removing tax release for few businesses like the limited liability firms, which was involved in the 2012 tax reductions supported by Brownback. THE KANSAS CITY STAR quoted Jeff King, who said, "I'm open to any approach that restores fairness to the tax system and helps us recover some of the taxes lost through the LLC loophole."
The governor ordered an instant reduction of $17 million to universities in March. But, he hindered hand-outs of $93 million to the retirement fund for community college staffs, as well as school teachers in the start of April. The government has also pulled off over $750 million from highway contracts and allotted the fund to other sessions of the state budget in the last two years.
