TOPEKA – A bundled of tax increases went nowhere in the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee on Thursday.
The original plan was to move out a series of tax increases on cigarettes, alcohol, sugary drinks and the sales tax but scaled back from the original proposals.
While raising taxes was not a pleasant idea, “we’re not in that luxury position at this time”, said Sen. Les Donovan, R-Wichita, who chairs the committee
The Senate Ways and Means Committee had previously passed out budget proposal for fiscal year 2011, which starts July 1, that relied heavily on increasing the state’s revenue collection. Most of the state’s $400 million plus shortfall for the budget would have come from the increase.
The measures all failed in committee, some not even getting the seconds necessary to be debated.
Sen. Chris Steineger, D-Kansas City, Kan., said that while he did not want to see schools cut more “I would rather see a little more trimmed out of the budget before I am force to raise taxes.”
He worried any bill sent to the full Senate would be used to amend all the tax increases on to.