In Kansas, explanations for tax collections may vary
Kansas officials have explanations for low tax collections, but don't mention the same contributing factor when touting high collections.
In March, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, in response to the COVID-10 pandemic, delayed the due date for Kansans to file and pay income taxes from April 15, 2020 to July 15, 2020. [1. Executive order 20-13. Available at https://governor.kansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/EO-20-13-Executed.pdf.] This change was bound to affect state tax collections for April, and it did.
When presenting tax collections for the month of April 2020, the Department of Revenue explained: "As predicted, the State of Kansas saw a decrease in total tax collections when compared to April of Fiscal Year 2019. These reductions are largely due to announced tax date extensions, whi...