The Garden City Telegram

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Tax details

Published 3/13/2010 in Commentary : Editorial

With the cash-strapped state of Kansas looking at ways to generate revenue, such moves as raising taxes and scrapping sales tax exemptions are on the table.

To raise funds in the face of a budget shortfall of more than $400 million, a request by Gov. Mark Parkinson for lawmakers to approve a temporary, 1 percent sales tax warrants serious consideration. And higher taxes on alcohol and tobacco have merit.

Debate also has focused on singling out certain groups and organizations to lose sales tax exemptions as a way to bring in new income.

Sales tax exemptions reportedly totaled more than $4 billion in 2009 alone — more than double the amount of sales tax a state revenue estimating group predicts Kansas will collect this fiscal year.

While lawmakers need to scrutinize sales tax exemptions that have been on the books for years, choosing which to eliminate without causing more pain won't be easy.

For example, one proposal to raise an estimated $182 million in part through elimination of a sales tax exemption on residential water, electric and natural gas bills would drive up utility costs at a time many Kansans can't afford that additional burden.

With such possibilities in mind, it's no wonder Kansans want more details on the state's financial activity. Yet some pertinent information isn't available on the state's KanView Web site, created to establish transparency of state monetary matters.

A tax transparency bill introduced in the Kansas House would require the tax expenditure report, published annually by the Kansas Department of Revenue, to be included on the KanView Web site. It would feature details on indirect expenditures — including revenue the state does not collect — to help taxpayers better understand all expenditures.

Budget woes understandably will remain the center of attention in Topeka as the economic fallout continues to threaten schools, social service agencies and individuals. Taxpayers will want to know even more about how governments handle their money.

State lawmakers should help satisfy that interest by supporting a tax transparency bill that would improve the KanView Web site and give Kansans an even clearer picture of what's going on.

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