© 2024 KMUW
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Brownback Threatens Veto Of Any Changes To Business Income Tax Cuts

Stephen Koranda file photo

The Kansas secretary of revenue says Republican Governor Sam Brownback will veto any attempts to roll back business income tax cuts. Secretary Nick Jordan told a group of senators yesterday that Brownback was opposed to any broad changes to business tax rules.

More than 300,000 business owners pay zero state income tax because of the 2012 tax cut, and some lawmakers want to look at amending that to help close a budget gap.

Senate Republican Majority Leader Terry Bruce believes the governor has shut the door on that issue for now.

“You either have to have the supermajority to override his veto or you get to modify your position to accommodate his stance. And quite frankly, there’s no chance of an override,” Bruce says.

Brownback has proposed taxing one type of business income that is now exempt. That would raise around $24 million next fiscal year.

Lawmakers are facing a deficit of around $800 million, but they believe they have already filled around half of that hole.

Stephen Koranda is the managing editor of the Kansas News Service, based at KCUR. He has nearly 20 years of experience in public media as a reporter and editor.