Businesses don’t care about Kansas’ abortion laws. They want commonsense tax rates

In recent weeks, the debate in Topeka has claimed to focus on what is best for making the Kansas business environment thrive. Sadly, the details of the debate do not match reality.

Gov. Laura Kelly has engaged in scare tactics in her efforts to defeat a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution that would pave the way for lawmakers to be able to adopt commonsense health and safety regulations related to abortion. Kelly claimed that passage of this amendment would harm Kansas’ business environment and cause companies to avoid our state. This argument has been made in other states, but it is not the reality.

Businesses look at many things when they consider prospective places to relocate. The economic climate is one of them. Businesses want low taxes, a reasonable regulatory environment, good communities and an educated workforce. Kansas already has many of these elements, though we need to work on some others. But whether the left gets its way on abortion does not factor into the decision-making process when businesses are looking for locations in a new state.

Kansas’ tax burden and overall economic conditions continue to be top concerns for businesses that want to locate here. Much needs to be done to address our tax situation, and sadly, this does not appear to be on the governor’s radar screen. We have the second-highest sales tax on food in the country, and this is an immediate concern for our residents and our business climate. We need a solid commitment from the governor and lawmakers that this tax can be lowered this year — not just a deal to reduce only if we adopt the governor’s reckless proposal to use the “Bank of KPERS” — in other words, taking money the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System.

According to a 2019 study by WalletHub, our state’s overall property tax burden is the 18th highest in the country, and this is enough to scare away businesses. As Kansans, we need to come together and start brainstorming ways to address that burden and have the hard conversations about what we can and should do.

We have good schools and colleges, but we need to look at ways to keep our college grads right here in Kansas. We need to bolster our statewide marketing, be proactive and recruit businesses. Just to our south in Oklahoma, the lieutenant governor is the state’s tourism and branding secretary. Think about that: a state officer dedicated to developing the state’s reputation, not just for tourism, but as a whole. It’s a great idea we should replicate here in Kansas.

Much can be done to grow our state’s economy, and we need leaders who are willing to work with all stakeholders, think outside the box and look at the economic realities. A look at our state’s entire tax burden, keeping our college graduates here in Kansas and aggressively marketing our state nationwide are what we need. What we don’t need are additional scare tactics.

This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Businesses don’t care about Kansas’ abortion laws. They want commonsense tax rates."