Editorial: Kansas lawmakers rebalance tax code, and Gov. Sam Brownback should sign it

A majority of Kansas lawmakers showed enormous courage this week by approving tax increases designed to close a budget hole blown open by tax cuts passed five years ago.

The House approved the package 76-48. The Senate passed the bill 22-18 and sent it to Gov. Sam Brownback, who has threatened to veto it.

That means the Legislature’s work may be unfinished. Neither chamber approved the increases by a veto-proof margin, so if Brownback rejects the measure, and votes can’t be changed, lawmakers will be forced to try again.

But the message to the governor and the people of Kansas was clear: Half-measures and one-time accounting tricks are not acceptable. The budget must be balanced.

Conservatives and the governor will squawk. They’ll claim, correctly, that the bill represents the largest tax increase in state history — about $1 billion over a two-year period.

They’ve promised to make the tax hikes a centerpiece of next year’s elections.

Their memories, however, are short. Less than two years ago, Brownback tearfully implored many of those same conservatives to pass what was then the largest tax hike ever. They voted yes, and Brownback signed the bill.

It’s crucial to remember this. Both sides have voted to raise taxes; they’ve just approached those increases in very different ways.

The 2015 Brownback tax increase centered on raising state sales taxes and maintaining sales taxes on grocery store food. That makes the state sales tax highly regressive, putting a disproportionate burden on low-income families.

Hurting the poor has been a recurring theme in Kansas over the past six years. The state cut welfare benefits. It privatized Medicaid. It refused to expand the health insurance program for the working poor.

Kansas toughened food stamp rules. The state fought lawsuits seeking additional funding for schools in poor communities. In almost every way, the state’s social safety net has frayed since Brownback became governor.

At the same time, conservatives cut taxes for the wealthy. They ended state taxes on pass-through income for 330,000 small business owners. They eliminated the top income tax bracket.

This week’s tax package essentially restores those cuts. State lawmakers have re-balanced the Kansas tax burden, making sure it falls more fairly on everyone.

They can still do more. Those high sales tax rates are still in place and should be reduced or eliminated, particularly on food. Lawmakers should think about further reducing income tax rates for lower-income Kansans.

And there’s still a $320 million deficit in this year’s budget to worry about.

That work is for another day. For now, the Kansas Legislature has taken an important step toward returning fairness to the state tax code and fixing the structural deficit.

The governor should sign it or let the package become law without his signature.

If he doesn’t, lawmakers should override the veto — or keep sending him bills until he gets the message.

This story was originally published February 17, 2017 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Editorial: Kansas lawmakers rebalance tax code, and Gov. Sam Brownback should sign it."