Senate Panel Moves Brownback Tax Plan Ahead

A Kansas Senate committee has endorsed most of Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax plan.

The GOP-dominated Assessment and Taxation Committee discussed Brownback’s proposals for less than 10 minutes Tuesday before approving a bill on a voice vote.

The action sends the legislation to the full Senate for debate, possibly next week.

Brownback wants to position Kansas to eventually eliminate personal income taxes. His plan calls for phasing in cuts in individual income tax rates over the next four years.

But the state also must stabilize its budget. The bill scraps an income tax deduction for interest on home mortgages and cancels a decrease in the state sales tax scheduled for July.

The committee jettisoned only the proposal from Brownback to eliminate an income tax deduction for property taxes on homes.