Kansas tax receipts miss mark again

Total revenue receipts for Kansas were disappointing again in October, about $15 million below expectations, the state Revenue Department announced Monday.

Sales and use taxes were off, about $21 million below expectations. Individual income tax receipts, however, were $13 million above estimates.

The report continues a trend of missed monthly estimates. Revenues for the 2016 fiscal year, which began in July, are now about $57 million below estimates.

Sen. Jim Denning, an Overland Park Republican, said the October report is “no surprise.” In fact, a new fiscal year revenue estimate expected Friday will project a $150 million shortfall, he said.

“The sales tax hasn’t been performing as projected for many months,” Denning said. “We’ve missed estimates 14 of the past 16 months.”

Denning said Gov. Sam Brownback, who pushed state income tax cuts in 2012, will need to produce a plan to fix the shortfall.

Denning said his advice would be to close a loophole that eliminated income taxes for many small businesses. That represents about $200 million, he said. But Brownback has been adamant that the income tax cuts aren’t negotiable.

“The governor now owns the tax plan, and he’ll have to figure out how to fill the hole,” he said.

Democratic leaders criticized Brownback Monday for “fiscal mismanagement.”

“Once again we hear more bad news, and the governor refuses to take responsibility,” said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka in a news release. “As a result, the credibility gap for this governor grows.”

House Minority Leader Tom Burroughs of Kansas City, Kan., chided the sales tax increase approved last session meant to repair a huge budget hole.

“A tax plan that is overly dependent upon a sales tax is neither responsible, equitable nor sustainable,” Burroughs said in a release. “Plus, given its regressive nature, a higher sales tax hits working families and the middle class the hardest.”

Revenue collections for October were $492 million. For the fiscal year, which began in July, total revenue collected by state agencies totaled $1.8 billion, the department said.

“Sales and use tax receipts have continued to follow the sluggish national trend and fell short of expectations, negating gains in individual income tax receipts,” said Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan in a news release.

This story was originally published November 2, 2015 at 3:27 PM with the headline "Kansas tax receipts miss mark again."