Kansas House unanimously approves dual-rate income tax after GOP leaders abandon flat tax
In a remarkable display of bipartisanship, the Kansas House unanimously voted on Wednesday morning to advance a dual-rate income tax plan, following nearly two years of bitter fights over the state’s tax policy.
Last week Kansas House Republican leaders abandoned the single-rate income tax that had been the central piece of every GOP-backed tax plan since January of 2023.
A key goal of GOP-leadership, it had become clear that the flat tax could not become law as it faced unyielding resistance from Democratic Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and her allies in the Legislature.
Instead, they pursued a plan that reduced the lowest of Kansas’ three tax brackets to zero, reduced state property taxes, eliminated taxes on social security income and accelerated the elimination of the state sales tax on food.
“This is a huge step toward getting relief back into the hands of Kansans where it belongs and
that’s all because of the hard work of the Republican-led House Tax Committee,” House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, said in a statement. “This is a true compromise tax relief plan with real bipartisan support.”
The plan passed 123 to 0. But it still faces significant barriers as House lawmakers negotiate with the Kansas Senate and seek the support of Kelly.
Though Democrats in the House applauded the package as a compromise, the governor is still unconvinced the plan, which would cost just over $500 million annually once fully implemented, is the right approach.
“While this tax package is a step forward in finding compromise on meaningful, sustainable tax relief, the overall fiscal cost risks putting the state in a precarious financial situation in the out years,” Will Lawrence, the governor’s chief of staff, said in a statement Wednesday. The final package, Lawrence said, must include tax credits for child care.
The bill may also run into issues in the Kansas Senate where lawmakers voted with a veto-proof majority earlier this month to approve a flat-rate tax. Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, said last week that he would consider options outside the flat tax but did not directly endorse the House plan.
During debate on the proposal, Tuesday, House Minority Leader Vic Miller, a Topeka Democrat, urged his colleagues to stand firm against pressure from the Senate to make major changes.
“Do not let the other side mess with this package,” he said. “This may be what people out across the state have been looking for.”
