Tag: Gov. Laura Kelly

Gov. Laura Kelly on Tuesday morning proposed a sales tax on out-of-state retailers shipping goods and digital products to Kansas.

The tax would generate about $97 million in revenue, according to the governor. Those funds would be used to cut taxes for 94 percent of Kansas residents and provide support for small businesses, according to the governor. It would help small businesses in Kansas because the current tax code not requiring out-of-state internet marketers to pay sales tax is an unfair advantage to out-of-state retailers, according to the governor.

The proposal would also allow the state to have a balanced budget, she said. The governor discussed the plan at a news conference Tuesday morning.

“COVID-19 has brought unprecedented challenges for hard-working Kansans, their families, and their businesses,” Gov. Kelly said. “We know they need relief – and they need it as soon as possible. Our proposal is an amendment to Senate Bill 22, that will provide tax relief to the vast majority of Kansas families and assist in our state’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Currently, all sellers whether they are on Amazon, Etsy or on their own, have been instructed to register and collect tax on property shipped to Kansas. But under current state tax code, out-of-state retailers are able to dodge the use tax on sales to Kansas customers, according to the governor.

The proposed plan would require the marketplace facilitator to collect and remit tax on behalf of the remote sellers on their platform, according to the governor. The state would collect from fewer entities and increase compliance, according to the plan.

Currently, Kansas is one of only three states that have not enacted a marketplace facilitator provision, according to the governor.

The plan also would impose taxes on digital products, such as video streaming services. These might include movies and music.

“When out-of-state retailers can duck taxes, there is no way for the local clothing store up the street or the local book store to try and compete with out of state prices,” Gov. Kelly said. “By requiring marketplace facilitators to collect use tax on out-of-state products, we level the playing field for Kansas main street businesses.”

Together, these marketplace facilitator and digital goods provisions would generate approximately $97 million in additional revenue for the state. That revenue would then be used to increase Kansas’s standard tax deduction by 20% in tax year 2021 and 35% in tax year 2022, according to the plan.

If the revenue neutral proposal were implemented, 94% of Kansans would see a tax cut, Gov. Kelly said.

The plan was proposed as an alternative to Senate Bill 22, which is being heard by the Kansas Senate Tuesday.

“At a time when we’re facing huge unemployment rates and an unsteady economy, we do not need tax cuts for the rich which have no impact on unemployment,” Senate Democratic Leader Dinah Sykes said. “At a time when we’re facing economic uncertainty, we do not need to repeat failed tax experiments which studies have shown – and which we have seen firsthand here in Kansas – have no impact on economic growth. Senate Democrats are proposing solutions that will grow our economy, keep Kansas businesses competitive, and keep more money in the pockets of Kansas families.”

“During a time of economic uncertainty and in the midst of a pandemic, Republicans are pushing to spend over $600 million in tax cuts for giant multi-national corporations,” House Democratic Leader Tom Sawyer said. “The vast majority of Kansans would receive no tax relief. We will always continue to fight for tax cuts that help working Kansans lessen their financial burden.”

To see the governor’s news conference, visit https://www.facebook.com/GovLauraKelly/videos/816949302366185.

Gov. Laura Kelly today proposed a new way to pay for Medicaid expansion in Kansas – with legalizing medical marijuana.

Some of the previous discussion on the issue centered on how to pay for the additional Medicaid health insurance for 165,000 Kansas residents.

Kansas is one of only three states without legalized medical marijuana and one of only 12 that have failed to expand Medicaid, according to the governor. Medical marijuana could raise up to $50 million a year for the state.

“After nearly a year of challenges brought on by COVID-19, we need to use every tool at our disposal to protect the health of our workforce and our economy,” Gov. Kelly said. “Getting 165,000 Kansans health care, injecting billions of dollars and thousands of jobs into our local economies, and protecting our rural hospitals will be critical to our recovery from the pandemic. By combining broadly popular, commonsense medical marijuana policy with our efforts to expand Medicaid, the revenue from the bill will pay for expansion.”

The Medicaid expansion bill includes many of the same provisions as last year, except these changes:
• The re-insurance program has been removed.
• The Medicaid Expansion Surcharge paid by Kansas hospitals to offset the state general fund costs of expanding Medicaid has been removed.
• In place of these two programs, a proposed medical marijuana bill has been inserted.
• This bill is modeled after Ohio’s framework and similar to the bill that has been proposed by House Republicans.
• The fiscal note of this portion of the bill should more than offset the state general fund costs of Medicaid Expansion.

“Our economic recovery depends heavily on our ability to attract and retain businesses throughout the state,” Lt. Gov. David Toland said. “Kansas has no business giving companies even one reason to look elsewhere — and I can say, unequivocally, that the availability of healthcare and well-being of all Kansans matters a great deal to companies considering places to locate and grow.”

Under the proposed legislation, Medicaid would be expanded to the full 138% federal poverty line at 90% to 10% match from the federal government. The bill requires the Kansas secretary of health and environment to collect information from applicants regarding their employment history through the Medicaid application and refer unemployed or underemployed individuals to the Department of Commerce or Department of Children and Families to assist with locating job opportunities through work referral programs.

Individuals would be required to pay a premium not to exceed $25 per person or $100 per family, with a provision to grant exceptions based on hardship. Premiums that go more than 60 days unpaid are referred to the established debt setoff program through the Department of Revenue for collection.

“Making health care available to thousands of low-income, uninsured Kansans would help working Kansans and their families, resulting in a healthier, more productive workforce and benefit employers across the state,” Tracey Osborne Oltjen, president and CEO of the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce, said. “We know that people who have health coverage are generally healthier and more productive at work. From a business perspective, that’s why Medicaid expansion is so important. Until we expand Medicaid in Kansas, we risk falling further behind our neighbors. We should not stand as an island on this issue, creating expensive challenges for our residents and our businesses.”

“Expanding Medicaid is one of the most cost-effective tools our state can use to protect our residents, health care providers and economy during the COVID-19 crisis and later as we rebuild,” April Holman, executive director of the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, said. “With that in mind, we commend the governor for her commitment to this issue. We will need to discuss the full scope of Governor Kelly’s proposal with our coalition. However, we remain unified in urging the Legislature to act on expanding Medicaid now. On its own, expanding KanCare will prove to be a budget positive proposal that will create thousands of jobs.”

The bill designates the Kansas Department of Health and Environment responsibility for overseeing patients and their use of medical marijuana, KDOR is responsible for licensure and fee collections as well as regulation of producers, and the Board of Healing Arts is responsible for certifying prescribing physicians. However, it also establishes a bipartisan medical marijuana advisory committee with appointments made by the governor, legislative leadership, and chaired by the secretary of health and environment.

The bill’s sponsor is the Commerce Committee. Senate Bill 92 is online at http://kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/sb92_00_0000.pdf.