Kansas Senate advances flat tax, food sales tax elimination

The Kansas Senate approved legislation Thursday to implement flat income tax for all taxpayers and voted to eliminate all state and local sales taxes on food next year.

The chamber voted 22-17 to approve the 4.75% flat income tax and 22-16 to eliminate the food sales tax. The flat tax proposal has been a priority of Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, since the beginning of the legislative session. He had originally proposed paying for lost revenue from the flat tax with an increase on sales tax for unhealthy food.

But lawmakers voted on the Senate floor to amend his bill to also eliminate sales tax on all food. Prior to the debate Masterson said that if the amendment went through it wouldn’t sink the state’s ability to move to a flat tax but would change what the final policy would look like.