In Kansas, it’s more important to be right than quick

It’s more important to finish the legislative session with policies that will work to the benefit of Kansas rather than to finish on any particular day.

Legislators need to finish the session with a tax plan that does not increase the amount of tax revenue flowing to the state. As explained in Taxes and state income growth, “taxes used to fund general expenditures are associated with significant, negative effects on income growth.”

Without a doubt, there are ways to collect taxes that are better than others. But lower taxes are the most important goal.

It’s important that the legislature resolve these issues in a way that positions Kansas for economic growth, rather than retaining the policies that have led to stagnation compared to other states.

Here’s what the Kansas Legislature needs to do:

• Keep the current sales tax rate.
• Eliminate sales tax on food.
• Reduce individual income and corporate income tax rates.
• Get serious about reducing spending.

It would be best if we could accomplish these goals sooner rather than later. But it’s penny wise and pound foolish to object to the $45,000 per day cost of running the legislature as long as we are making progress towards these goals.