What to Expect from Kansas Small Business in 2020

Date: January 08, 2020

NFIB Urges Kansas Lawmakers to Think Small Business in 2020

The Kansas legislature will start their regular session on January 13th. Before lawmakers return to Topeka, NFIB State Director Dan Murray is reminding our elected officials to keep small business in mind this year. Small business owners create jobs and keep Kansas’ economy running. “Here in Kansas, as it is nationwide, small business optimism is at an all-time high. Small business owners in our state are keeping the economy strong and creating jobs all across the state. NFIB’s mission this year is to build upon past successes and make improvements to the state’s tax structure, legal system, and prevent onerous regulations to small business,” says NFIB State Director Dan Murray. “I look forward to working with lawmakers to enact positive measures to keep small business thriving in Kansas.” Here are NFIB’s top priorities for the 2020 legislative session.

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NFIB is again supporting the efforts by the legislature that would have lowered income taxes for thousands of small business owners across Kansas. Last year, the legislature failed to override the Governor’s veto of a bill that would have decoupled the state tax code from changes made to the federal code in the Tax Cut and Jobs Act. The legislation would have allowed Kansas small business owners to itemize deductions on state returns when using the standard deduction on their federal returns. The result is that while most small business owners across the country saw an increase in their tax returns that resulted in raises for employees and reinvestment in their business, many small business owners in Kansas were instead left with a tax increase.

A big concern this session comes in the form of property taxes. NFIB fought for and helped pass a law requiring a property tax lid. The recent skyrocketing property tax rates in Kansas took a financial toll on small business owners. The new law puts limitations and restrictions on how much cities and counties can increase property taxes without the approval of voters. However, NFIB is worried about efforts to undo this law in 2020 and is asking lawmakers to keep the protections for small business owners in place.

NFIB looks forward to working with Kansas legislative leaders on a bill that would protect the state’s job creators from bogus and abusive litigation. Last year, the state supreme court ruled that Kansas’ cap on non-economic damages is unconstitutional. It was a major blow to small business. NFIB members in Kansas supported the legislature’s efforts to institute a cap on the amount of non-economic damages awarded in civil action. One overzealous jury award could put a small business owner out of business. Now, many small business owners in Kansas are seeing their liability insurance rate increase dramatically. Kansas lawmakers need to fix this problem now.

NFIB is asking lawmakers to squash legislation increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Small business owners know that more than doubling Kansas’ minimum wage leads to increased labor costs which leads to tough business choices. Many small business owners will have to decide whether to cut hours, employees, or benefits, or all. Something must go. While some employees may see an increase in their paycheck, others will lose their job. NFIB is watching the active legislation and urging lawmakers to oppose it.

NFIB is also concerned about threats to previous victories concerning paid leave. NFIB fought for and helped pass legislation prohibiting municipalities from passing paid leave, predictive scheduling and wage requirements. There is active legislation that would undo those recent victories. NFIB is paying attention and will remain diligent to make sure the prohibitions against the municipalities remain intact. We are asking lawmakers to reciprocate that diligence.

 

 

 

Related Content: Small Business News | Kansas

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