The historic Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 gave federal tax relief to families and businesses across the country. Following its passage, Americans are seeing bigger paychecks and expanded benefits at work.
However, because of the way the Kansas tax code is structured, many in our state have actually seen an unintended state-level tax increase that has undermined the benefits of federal tax reform.
Under current law, taxpayers who opt to take the nearly doubled federal standard deduction (made possible by federal tax reform) are required to also take the much lower Kansas standard deduction on their state tax filing. This has left many Kansas taxpayers seeing a tax cut on their federal returns, but a tax increase on their state returns.
Senate Bill 22, the Relief Act, would allow Kansas filers to take the new federal standard deduction but still reserve the option of itemizing their Kansas returns, reversing the unintended state-level tax bump for those who have gotten relief at the federal level.
Further, the Relief Act should help protect Kansas taxpayers from this unintended tax increase and ensure that the benefits of tax reform are flowing fully and directly to taxpayers.
This bill would return millions to Kansas taxpayers, which would enhance, rather than undermine, the benefits of federal tax reform in the state. When every dollar counts the most, we should be finding more opportunities to cut taxes for hardworking Kansas.
Urge your officials to support the Relief Act!