Effort to block cities, counties from recouping lost sales tax fails

The Kansas Senate on Tuesday rejected a plan from Republican leadership designed to prevent local governments from increasing property taxes to backfill lost sales tax revenue from a separate GOP bill. The Senate last month passed a plan to exempt food from both state and local sales taxes, which would have cut an estimated $180 million a year from local government revenue. Officials warned that the only option for local governments wishing to maintain the same level of services would be to raise property taxes. In an effort to prevent property tax increases, Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, followed up with another bill to create a fund to use state money to compensate local governments for their lost revenue. The bill provided a one-time allocation of $220 million. That bill, Senate Bill 309, was voted down 17-23 on Tuesday.
Source: Salina Journal