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Kansas, Missouri lawmakers tout bill to lower Kansans' taxes
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KANSAS CITY (AP) - Legislative leaders in Kansas and Missouri are touting a bill that would lower taxes for Kansans who work in Missouri.
Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton and Kansas House Speaker Melvin Neufeld said Friday that the bill is a critical step that will help the two states move forward with other collaborations.
The Missouri legislation essentially would return things to the way they used to be.
Last year, Missouri scrapped a long-standing tax policy that had allowed out-of-state residents working in Missouri to deduct their home state property taxes from their Missouri income taxes.
The change put Missouri on par with Illinois, which does not allow a similar deduction for Missouri residents who work in that state. But it put Missouri at odds with Kansas, which continues to allow an income tax break for Missourians crossing the border to work.
Frustrated Kansas officials responded by proposing a similar tax increase on Missourians coming to Kansas to work.
To quell the animosity, Missouri lawmakers are working quickly to reverse last year's law. The Missouri House gave first-round approval to a bill this week and is expected to vote Monday to send it to the Senate.
“Really I think this week is all about just being a good neighbor,” Jetton said during a news conference Friday at the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.
“We've got a lot of cooperating going on - cooperating between states, but also cooperating between parties.
“I just think it shows that we can work together, regardless of parties, and fix a problem. On this particular issue, nobody asks you when you go to pay your taxes whether you're Democrat or Republican. It was going to affect you either way.”
Jetton and Neufeld are both Republicans. But the bill's sponsor is House Minority Floor Leader Paul LeVota, a Democrat from Independence.
The Missouri and Kansas officials said the legislation will help the Kansas City area thrive in health and science projects that cross the state lines, such as projects at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo.-based St. Luke's Health System.
“We really appreciate your efforts on this, because it is critical that we work together,” Neufeld told Jetton, LeVota and the other Missouri politicians who attended Friday's news conference.
“The Kansas House has already passed the bill that amounts to a retaliatory tax that if one state doesn't allow deduction of property taxes on income tax, then we'll treat their people the same way,” Neufeld said. “And we don't want to go there. But, honestly, the pressure in the Legislature on this issue has been tremendous.
“We'll have the Senate hold that bill up and not take action on it until your Senate has time to take pass (the Missouri bill) and get it into law.”
If things go smoothly, the Missouri bill could pass the Senate in two to three weeks, Jetton said. The plan is to include an emergency clause that would allow the measure to take effect immediately, instead of in August, he said.
“We feel like everything should go pretty well in the Senate, but I have learned with senators to never plan or predict,” Jetton said. “We are ready in both parties to go to war to get this thing done. With the governor's support and the Senate leadership support, we feel like we should have a pretty decent time on this one.”
Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton and Kansas House Speaker Melvin Neufeld said Friday that the bill is a critical step that will help the two states move forward with other collaborations.
The Missouri legislation essentially would return things to the way they used to be.
Last year, Missouri scrapped a long-standing tax policy that had allowed out-of-state residents working in Missouri to deduct their home state property taxes from their Missouri income taxes.
The change put Missouri on par with Illinois, which does not allow a similar deduction for Missouri residents who work in that state. But it put Missouri at odds with Kansas, which continues to allow an income tax break for Missourians crossing the border to work.
Frustrated Kansas officials responded by proposing a similar tax increase on Missourians coming to Kansas to work.
To quell the animosity, Missouri lawmakers are working quickly to reverse last year's law. The Missouri House gave first-round approval to a bill this week and is expected to vote Monday to send it to the Senate.
“Really I think this week is all about just being a good neighbor,” Jetton said during a news conference Friday at the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.
“We've got a lot of cooperating going on - cooperating between states, but also cooperating between parties.
“I just think it shows that we can work together, regardless of parties, and fix a problem. On this particular issue, nobody asks you when you go to pay your taxes whether you're Democrat or Republican. It was going to affect you either way.”
Jetton and Neufeld are both Republicans. But the bill's sponsor is House Minority Floor Leader Paul LeVota, a Democrat from Independence.
The Missouri and Kansas officials said the legislation will help the Kansas City area thrive in health and science projects that cross the state lines, such as projects at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo.-based St. Luke's Health System.
“We really appreciate your efforts on this, because it is critical that we work together,” Neufeld told Jetton, LeVota and the other Missouri politicians who attended Friday's news conference.
“The Kansas House has already passed the bill that amounts to a retaliatory tax that if one state doesn't allow deduction of property taxes on income tax, then we'll treat their people the same way,” Neufeld said. “And we don't want to go there. But, honestly, the pressure in the Legislature on this issue has been tremendous.
“We'll have the Senate hold that bill up and not take action on it until your Senate has time to take pass (the Missouri bill) and get it into law.”
If things go smoothly, the Missouri bill could pass the Senate in two to three weeks, Jetton said. The plan is to include an emergency clause that would allow the measure to take effect immediately, instead of in August, he said.
“We feel like everything should go pretty well in the Senate, but I have learned with senators to never plan or predict,” Jetton said. “We are ready in both parties to go to war to get this thing done. With the governor's support and the Senate leadership support, we feel like we should have a pretty decent time on this one.”
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