In 2013 both Kansas and North Carolina cut taxes. The left claimed it would lead to massive shortfalls, cuts in necessary government services, and basically that the entire world was going to end. Well, in North Carolina we know that was not the case. We have a $400 million surplus and the arguments in Raleigh over the budget are where to spend money, not where to cut. However, Kansas has not been so lucky.
In the last week or two, Kansas lawmakers have been holding long session debates into the wee hours of the morning, discusing their state budget and changes to the tax code. Friday, the Senate passed a tax increase and the House approved in efforts to fill the $280 million shortfall. Now it is on Governor Brownback’s desk awaiting his signature.
Here are some details from the largest tax increase in the 154-year history of the state of Kansas.
– The bill increases the sales tax to 6.5 percent.
– Off the table is a drop in the food tax: now set at 6.5 percent. Legislators will revisit the food tax next year.
– The bill forces smokers to paying extra: A pack of cigarettes will cost 50 cents more.
– A new tax on e-cigs will go into effect next summer.
– Business and farm taxes were largely left untouched – a huge sticking point for legislators.
North Carolina lawmakers need to study the NC Senate’s tax plan in depth to make sure NC isn’t putting itself into the same situation Kansas did. While tax cuts are great and support a growing economy – we don’t want to reverse and have to raise them in the future.
