The Kansas Senate has passed a tax plan that leaves out a critical piece of Governor Laura Kelly’s plan.
Called the “RELIEF Act” by Republicans for “Rebuilding Employers and Livelihoods: Investing in Everyone’s Future,” Senate Bill 22 lets residents take itemized state deductions regardless of whether the standard deduction is claimed for federal income tax purposes. It also says identity theft victims will not have to pay income taxes on unemployment claims fraudulently going to other people. In addition, it includes provisions to “decouple” state and federal income taxes. Social Security and retirement income have been exempted from being taxed.
Governor Laura Kelly’s plan to tax so-called marketplace facilitators like Amazon, Etsy and others was rejected. The governor’s plan would have forced the marketplace facilitators to collect and then remit sales taxes for all remote sellers on their platforms if it gained approval. Sales taxes on video platforms like streaming services would have also been included.
However, another aspect of the governor’s tax plan — increased standard deductions — is moving forward. The governor plans to increase deductions by 20 percent this fiscal year and 35 percent next year. The governor’s plan, though, was to use the new online tax revenues to pay for the deductions.
The plan approved by the Senate affects more than $400 million in tax cuts.
