Editorials, Press Releases & Letters
Taxpayer Protection Pledge Information
 KANSAS
TAXPAYERS NETWORK |
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Press Release GROWTH OF TAX REVENUES IN KANSAS The following graph shows the total tax revenues of the State of Kansas according to "Tax Facts", a publication of the Kansas Legislative Research Division. Tax revenues represent only about half the revenues received by the State. 
On the Kansas Department of Revenue Website there is a spreadsheet entitled "Estimated Effect of Tax Reductions and Increases Enacted since 19951." This information is used constantly by tax increase proponents in attempts to kill tax reduction bills or justify tax increases. A Kansas legislator was quoted recently as saying "the billion dollars a year in tax cuts nearly bankrupted the state." The reader is challenged to find the billion-dollar late-nineties dip in tax revenues in the above chart. Note that the revenues continued upward every year except 1999. Kansas had enough tax revenues to continue to grow spending mainly because the tax rate cuts stimulated the economy, which in turn ballooned tax revenues. We had our cake and ate it, too. LOCAL TAX REVENUES The following graph and figures show only those local taxes that are tracked by the State of Kansas. None of the revenues shown above for the state are duplicated here, although a large portion of those state tax revenues end up going to locals. There are many more local taxes, as will be shown below. Those other taxes are growing even faster than the ones tracked by the state.
OTHER LOCAL TAXES AND FEES Following is a partial list of local taxes and fees not tracked by the state. There are many other fees and licenses not listed here. Utility sales are listed because they are usually monopolies. Cities overcharge, then transfer money from the utility fund into the general fund through "payments in lieu of taxes" (PILOTS). Items like swimming pool charges are not listed, since the user gets value and has a choice of whether to use.
SUMMARY From 1990 through 2005, inflation was 54.2%. State taxes were up 111.6%, and local taxes tracked by the state were up 97.5%. The taxes not tracked by the state were up far more. Most of those taxes didn't even exist in 1990. Kenneth Daniel (kdaniel@kssmallbiz.com) is a Topeka small business owner and free-lance writer. He is publisher of www.kssmallbiz.com, a website dedicated to Kansas small business. Media Representatives: Please feel free to republish this article with proper credit. For information, contact Kenneth Daniel, publisher, kdaniel@kssmallbiz.com, or Sharon Dubois, editor, editor@kssmallbiz.com. |
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KANSAS TAXPAYERS NETWORK
P.O. Box 20050 • Wichita, KS 67208
(316) 684-0082
Fax: (316) 684-7527