NFIB’s state director for Kansas, Dan Murray, today thanked House members who voted to override Governor Kelly’s veto of House Bill 2033 and said legislators who voted to uphold the governor’s veto had hurt Kansas’ small business owners and employees.
The vote was 78-39, but supporters of H.B. 2033 needed 84 votes to override the veto and allow the bill to become law.
Take action: Contact your legislators about the failed tax reform veto override
“Our members appreciate that a strong majority of House members understood the stakes here and voted to override the governor’s veto, but they’re very disappointed in those who essentially voted ‘yes’ on a big increase in state income taxes.
H.B. 2033 would have decoupled the state tax code from changes made to the federal code in the historic federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It would have allowed Kansans to itemize deductions on their state returns when using the standard deduction on their federal returns. Most small business owners in Kansas pay taxes at the individual rate rather than the corporate rate.
“The irony, of course, is that Governor Kelly ran on a promise not to raise taxes, but that’s exactly what she’s done, first by vetoing Senate Bill 22 and then by vetoing House Bill 2033.
“What the governor and too many House members don’t seem to understand is that Kansans can’t afford to pay higher taxes,” Murray said. “Today’s vote is going to have a big impact in the lives of working Kansans and, eventually, at the polls.”
