The Kansas House of Representatives voted Thursday to approve a tax cut plan that includes a single rate for income taxes, commonly known as a “flat tax.”
The 81-37 vote sends the bill to Governor Laura Kelly, since the Senate gave its approval by a vote of 25-11 on Wednesday.
The plan is expected to mean a reduction of $1.3 billion to the state’s general fund over three years. Republican leaders said the plan contains elements of the tax cut plan announced by the governor and a bipartisan group of lawmakers earlier this month, with the elimination of taxes on Social Security and exempting the first $100,000 in property taxes for seniors, as well as ending the sales tax on groceries. Democrats voted against the flat tax, saying it would benefit higher income taxpayers without providing much relief to low and moderate income taxpayers.
Governor Kelly vetoed a similar plan last year, and she said in her State of the State address that she would veto a flat tax plan again this year. The margin of approval for the Republican plan did not have a veto-proof majority in the House or the Senate. An override would need 84 votes in the House and 27 in the Senate.
