For the last two months, Kansas has met its state tax collection targets. That hasn’t happened for quite some time. Some state officials think it might be the start of a trend, while others aren’t so sure.
After the state lowered its revenue estimate, Kansas met the new forecast for November and December. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning told the Topeka Capital- Journal that he thinks Kansas now has a handle on the revenue numbers and will be consistently hitting them.
Gov. Sam Brownback says he sees some positive signs, but he isn’t as upbeat as Denning.
“I’m not going to say that after two years of problems, particularly with sales and corporate [taxes]," Brownback says. "The nice thing that I saw yesterday that came out was sales tax numbers hitting the mark."
Brownback says sagging agriculture, as well as oil and gas industries, have hurt sales tax collections in counties that depend on those sectors. He says the sales tax turnaround might show some improvement.
Some critics of the state’s tax policy blame tax cuts made in recent years for creating monthly revenue uncertainty.
