Proposal to End Monthly Tax Comparisons

A task force appointed by Kansas Republican Gov. Sam Brownback suggests ending the monthly reports that compare the state’s tax collections to projections of how much money it’ll bring in.

A proposal released Tuesday by the task force instead wants to do monthly reports only comparing tax collections to the previous year. Task force Chairman Sam Williams said the goal is to focus on actual tax collections rather than imperfect projections.

Monthly comparisons of tax collections against projections have long provided a look at how the state’s budget is faring, but have become a political problem for Brownback as tax collections have regularly fallen short of expectations.

Balancing the budget has been difficult for Kansas since GOP legislators slashed personal income taxes in 2012 and 2013 at Brownback’s urging.