Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback isn’t ruling out a tax increase next year to balance the state budget even though he thinks it would be harmful to raise taxes with agriculture in a slump.

Brownback had a Statehouse news conference Monday to tout what he sees as several successes that include highway projects and a reading program for struggling third-graders.

Income tax cuts championed by the Republican governor have become a key issue in legislative races as Kansas has struggled to balance its budget.
Brownback says Kansas is facing a “rural recession” because of slumps in agriculture and energy production.

He said a big tax increase would be “very harmful.”
But asked whether he would rule out a tax increase, he said, “I’m not ruling anything in or out.”