The Kansas Senate defeated SB 214 decisively today after debating the bill all morning and another hour or so after lunch.
A motion by Senator Alley to send the bill back to committee failed. That would have kept the bill alive for further committee amendments, but senators preferred to kill the bill.
The bill would have changed Kansas income taxes to a 4.6% flat tax. Current law provides for a two bracket system at 2.6% and 4.6%. The bill also eliminates the LLC income tax exemption and reduces the sales tax on food by 1% in the first year. Governor Brownback has indicated support for this plan, but there opposition cited the insufficient revenue raised by the bill. Senator Hensley quoted the Kansas Center for Economic Growth, which said the bill would raise taxes on a majority of lower income Kansans.
