Category: Business

Kansas women struggling to re-enter workforce as affordable childcare remains scarce, report says

by Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — New research from a women’s economic and civic advancement group and the University of Kansas draws connections between rising unemployment among women, difficulty accessing child care and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Status of Women in Kansas report released Wednesday found the impacts of COVID-19 are disproportionately affecting women. Caregiving responsibilities, the closure of in-person schools and working from home have had a significant impact on women’s employment, report findings indicate.

For example, in the quarter before COVID-19, women accounted for 32% of unemployment claims, but after March 2020, women averaged 46% of the claims. The unemployment rate for women peaked at just over 16% in April 2020.

Wendy Doyle, president and CEO of United WE, said research from the McKinsey Global Institute showed increased women’s participation can lead to as much as a 10% to 15% increase in economic activity in the state.

“We have a long, 30-year history of investing in evidence-based research and data to drive nonpartisan policy solutions to reduce barriers for women and their families,” Doyle said. “When we reduce these barriers, it helps everyone, including our state’s economy, to flourish.”

The study follows up on a similar report from 2016 aimed at centering issues women in Kansas are facing. In response to the 2022 report, a women’s economic development task force is set to dive into issues of women’s participation in the workforce.

The Kansas Women’s Economic Development task force will conduct town halls across the state to hear firsthand from women about experiences and challenges before and after the onset of the pandemic. Panel work and town hall results will feed into a report with results, key findings and potential recommendations for policymakers and advocates to tackle.

“We are working right now to put (the task force) together and really have varied representation by geography and industry of women … to create awareness of the town halls to encourage women to participate and engage in the conversation,” Doyle said.

One major area in need of extra attention is a lack of access to affordable child care, which Donna Ginther, director of the Institute for Policy and Social Research at KU, said pushed many women out of the labor force during the pandemic. Now, she said, it is holding many women back from re-entering the workforce.

“Infant care is less affordable in Kansas than in other states,” Ginther said. “The average annual cost of infant care is about $11,000 a year, which is close to 30% of the median woman’s income in the state. So, if a woman works, and she wants to put her child in high-quality infant care, it’s going to be a third of her paycheck, and that’s too high.”

Ginther said high-quality child care costs are comparable to college tuition for in-state KU students. She noted that 300 licensed child care providers closed in 2020 in Kansas, making cost and accessibility growing issues.

The report also indicated that for every dollar earned by a man in Kansas, women made only 78 cents in 2020. This is less than the national average of $0.82 per dollar.

“Factual data is the first step in telling an accurate story of the lives of Kansas women,” Ginther said. “This research validates the importance of removing barriers and advocating for policies that support women, ultimately making families and communities healthier and the economy stronger.”

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/02/02/kansas-women-struggling-to-re-enter-workforce-as-affordable-childcare-remains-scarce-reports-says/

January tax collections in Kansas exceed estimates

January total tax collections in Kansas have exceeded estimates, according to a news release from Gov. Laura Kelly.

Total tax collections were $944.5 million in January, which was 14.5 percent more than the month estimate, according to the governor’s office. It was an 18.7 percent growth over January 2021.

“Over the past three years my administration has taken steps to restore the Kansas economy, and that fiscal responsibility has paved the way to provide direct tax relief to Kansas taxpayers,” Gov. Kelly said in the news release. “That relief will come specifically through proposals like axing the state’s sales tax on food. I urge the Legislature to send a clean bill to my desk quickly, so we can get this done for Kansas families.”

Individual income tax collections were $542.2 million. That is $82.2 million, or 17.9%, more than the estimate and 18.4% more than the previous January. Wage withholding remains strong going into 2022 reflecting both improved statewide employment and accompanying wage growth.

Retail sales tax collections were $258.2 million for January. This is $18.2 million, or 7.6%, more than the estimate and 14.9% more than January 2021. Compensating use tax collections also exceeded estimates by 5.2%. Those collections are also 30.2% more than the previous January. Both retailer’s sales tax and compensating use tax collections established new monthly collection records in January 2022.

“Individual income tax, corporate income tax, retailer’s sales tax, and compensating use tax all continue to perform well as the state’s primary revenue sources,” Secretary of Revenue Mark Burghart said. “Increased holiday spending in December accounts in large part for the record sales and compensating use tax collections in January.”

According to sales tax distribution figures on the Kansas Department of Revenue’s website, Wyandotte County had $2.45 million in January 2022 sales tax distributions compared to $2.2 million in January 2021, an 11 percent increase.

Kansas City, Kansas, had sales tax distribution figures of $3.26 million in January 2022 compared to $3.6 million in January 2021, for an 11.5 percent increase.

For sales tax reports, see https://www.ksrevenue.gov/prsalesreports.html.

  • Information from Gov. Laura Kelly’s office

Kansas House panel pokes holes in expedited megaproject incentive bill during initial review

by Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Kansas House members dissecting a financial incentive package to encourage manufacturers to pursue multi-billion-dollar investments in the state lamented the rushed nature of the legislation as they considered what guardrails were necessary to include.

Senate Bill 347 provides companies planning to invest at least $1 billion in Kansas over five years with several special incentives. The package is a response to a request front the Kelly administration to adopt a measure that would improve the state’s bid for an unnamed company expected to invest $4 billion in a production plant.

Amendments added in the Senate would reduce the state corporate income tax rate of 4% by 0.5% each year project funds are sent to these companies, make a tax credit non-refundable and establish a sunset of June 30, 2023. Paul Hughes, deputy secretary for the Kansas Department of Commerce, said the sunset was far too soon and asked for that date to be pushed back to 2027.

“A one-year sunset sends the wrong message to the business community,” Hughes told legislators Monday. “Kansas needs to be in the game for these megaprojects, especially during a time when the number of megaprojects seeking new locations is high. We must capitalize on this moment.”

The Senate approved the bill last week by a vote of 32 to 7, sending it to the House Commerce, Labor, and Economic Development Committee for consideration. On the first of three planned days to work through the bill, several members of the House panel expressed concerns with the speed the bill was moving despite apparent issues.

For example, Rep. Blaine Finch, R-Ottawa, found an issue with the wording of a provision providing 50% state property tax abatement for these companies.

“This says they shall be exempt for 50%,” Finch said. “If the local government only wants to give a 25% ad valorem property tax abatement, this bill says they can’t do that. So, you are preempting local authority, correct?”

“That is not the intent,” Hughes said.

“It probably needs to be revised then,” Finch said.

Finch was not the only legislator to find issues within the legislation. While some legislators agreed the sunset would dissuade companies, Rep. Sean Tarwater, a Stilwell Republican and chairman of the House commerce panel, said the sunset was a key to ensuring there were not more slip-ups that haven’t been exposed.

“If we can get one or two companies in with the sunset, we can then kind of moderate it and see how it’s going and make sure that we don’t bankrupt the state by trying to get people to move here or have to raise taxes,” Tarwater said.

Chamber of commerce representatives from across the state testified in support of the measure.

Rep. Rui Xu, D-Westwood, said he was excited about the potential to attract business but struggled with the potential unintended consequences.

“I generally believe this could be a transformative investment into Kansas and materially change how the state is viewed in the larger scheme of things, but that’s if we get it right,” Xu said. “There are lots of scenarios where that doesn’t happen.”

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.


See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/02/01/kansas-house-panel-pokes-holes-in-expedited-megaproject-incentive-bill-during-initial-review/