In August 2015, Kansas came up $30 million shorter than projected on tax collections. The state’s Department of Revenue believed it would haul in $448 million but was holding just $418 million when the final numbers were tallied, leaving the already-cash-strapped legislature even further behind the 8-ball than it was earlier this summer.
Even before this shortfall, state lawmakers already knew they were in fiscal trouble in 2015. The budget that passed in June managed to cut an $800 million deficit in half, to $406 million, but this miscalculation is just another example that the elected officials in Kansas just don’t add up. When these moves were clearly not enough, the state then hiked the sales and cigarette taxes in July as Governor Sam Brownback made token austerity cuts that totaled a whopping $63 million.
Democratic State Senator Laura Kelly of Topeka was quick to highlight tax cuts made by the previous administration as the cause of the state’s budget crisis. “We are not generating the revenue that we need to from our taxes to support the services that we’re required to provide,” said Sen. Kelly.
Of course, there are two sides to every budget, and reckless expenditures continue to be a major source of the turmoil. The state is continuing to shell out more than it is taking in each month, and the August accounting error shows that those with their hands on the coin purse cannot even properly do the simple math. It highlights just how far out-of-whack their spending addiction has become.
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