Kansas lawmakers approve a tax bill but the state still might not see big tax cuts

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators are struggling to overcome political divisions that have prevented their state’s residents from seeing major income tax cuts over the past two years even as other states have slashed income tax rates.

The Republican-controlled Legislature approved a bill early Saturday morning that would cut income, sales and property taxes by more than $1.5 billion over three years. However, statements from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly earlier in the week and from a top aide Friday night suggested she might veto the plan. It wasn’t clear supporters would have the two-thirds majorities in both chambers needed to override such an action.

The debate appears stuck where it was at the start of 2023, with top Republicans pushing for a single personal income tax rate instead of the current three and Kelly opposed to steps in that direction. Because lawmakers bundle mulitple tax cuts in a single bill, the stalemate has prevented Kansas from enacting other proposals, such as eliminating taxes on retirees’ Social Security benefits and lowering state-imposed property taxes that help fund public schools.

Like other states, Kansas has been flush with tax revenues and is still projected to have surpluses of more than $3.7 billion at the end of June 2025. But its inability to enact tax cuts contrasts sharply with Georgia, where last month the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed personal and corporate income tax cuts that GOP Gov. Brian Kemp favored.

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