Kansas lawmakers circle back to 2-rate income tax in final plan

TOPEKA (KSNT) – Kansas House and Senate negotiators have finalized a deal on tax reform.

Lawmakers met Friday night to work renegotiate a mega tax package, after several plans were scrapped. Nexstar’s Kansas Capitol Bureau spoke with House and Senate members shortly after the meeting wrapped, who are touting the proposal as a bipartisan win.

“It creates a 2-bracket system. It decreases the top bracket from 5.7% to 5.55% and then the middle bracket decreases, from 5.25% to 5.15%, and it eliminates the bottom bracket for low income individuals,” Senate Tax Chair Caryn Tyson, R-Parker said.

The new proposal will be included in an updated conference committee report for House Bill 2036, which House members sent back to committee Thursday.

On Friday, Senate negotiators agreed to take up the House’s 2-rate income tax proposal, after the chamber derailed the bill last week. However, Tyson said the proposal makes changes to the House’s prior plan.

“The original bill from the House was almost a 2-rate system,” she said. “What we did was increase the personal exemption and take it to a true 2-rate system.”

According to Tyson, the proposal also exempts social security and speeds up eliminating the food sales tax to July 1.

Representative Tom Sawyer, D-Wichita, helped negotiate the deal in committee. He said it’s a good combination of the House and Senate positions.

“The income tax very much resembles the House bill and the property tax piece may be a little more with the Senate bill,” Rep. Sawyer explained. “There will be a $100,000 exemption on every home on the state mill levy and then there will be additional half-mill cuts. The original House bill went down to 18, so that’s where we compromised and took the Senate position.”

The bill is expected to be brought to the floor in both chambers Friday evening.

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