In these times of outrageous inflation, every one of us is worried about our personal expenses, and tax cuts are more critical than ever for average Kansans. Some neighbors have told me that I shouldn’t challenge my opponent on the tax issue, since he’s known to be relatively conservative in this area. It is true that he eventually came around and supported some of the watered-down compromise tax reduction proposals this year. I also appreciate and agree with his criticism of omnibus spending bills that are too big to properly understand or debate. But overall, there are still a lot of problems with Kansas taxes. A few key points to keep in mind:
- The incumbent voted to sustain the governor’s veto of the tax reform plan passed in January. According to media reports, his argument was that equivalent budget cuts needed to pass before tax cuts. Of course I agree that spending cuts would be great— the legislature should work on these too. But in any case, typically these arguments that we “can’t afford” tax cuts derive from the static analysis fallacy: the idea that every reduction in tax rates will reduce revenues by an equivalent amount. This ignores the fact that lower tax rates spur increased economic activity, often increasing revenues— as seen at the national level by presidents including Kennedy and Reagan.
- Kansas is a severely overtaxed state, and this is causing us to miss huge opportunities created by the West Coast exodus. According to some calculations such as those at wallethub, Kansas’s overall tax burden ranks as high as 12th in the nation— extremely high for a “red state”, and making it much less attractive to potential new residents and businesses. Many of my old friends have left Oregon in the past decade in search of more reasonable government, but I haven’t seen any others choose Kansas, and this issue has been an important factor. We need a major tax reduction plan in order to become a truly competitive destination for the many people currently relocating within the country.
- The incumbent has been in Kansas politics since the 1980s, and is a ranking member of the appropriations committee— so must bear direct responsibility for our current highly-taxed state. These discussions tend to drown in minutiae related to specific rates on property, social security, etc— but you need to keep the big picture in mind. Overall Kansas citizens suffer an unusually high tax burden, and my opponent has consistently been part of the government that helped to create this situation over the past four decades.
Thus, if you are concerned about your family’s budget and our state’s overall tax burden, it’s time to vote for a change: Erik Seligman in district 83.