Tag: Taxation
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Clarifications to Kansas unencumbered fund balances report
Last week the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy released a groundbreaking research report detailing the several billion dollars hidden away in Kansas state government funds. My reporting on this, along with links to the study document, is at Kansas funds have large, unneeded balances. There’s been a bit of pushback. Some officials have said…
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Kansas funds have large, unneeded balances
The Flint Hills Center for Public Policy has released research that shows that the state of Kansas has large unencumbered balances, representing excess funds needlessly collected from Kansans in the form of taxes and fees. The numbers are staggering, with over 1,600 state funds holding between $2 billion and $3 billion in excess balances, depending…
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Wichita needs a bargain on parks maintenance
As the City of Wichita struggles to make its budget work, one proposal is to reduce the number of parks workers, replacing them with contract workers. The city believes it could save $1 million per year. Parks workers and the union officials that represent them are opposed to this plan. Taxpayers, however, should be relieved…
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Wichita school district’s cost-shifting burdens federal coffers
When USD 259, the Wichita public school district, recently sold some bonds, they took advantage of a new program called Build America Bonds. This program was passed as part of the federal stimulus program earlier this year. The benefit to the Wichita school district is that the federal government will pay 35% of the interest…
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Wichita school bond sale claims mislead
In a news release, USD 259, the Wichita public school district, is claiming a huge victory in the first sale of bonds authorized by last year’s election. But if you place the facts in context, with proper background, it turns out the conditions of the sale are quite different from what USD 259 claims.
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Wichita parks system is not a jobs program
The city has a responsibility to its citizens to operate as efficiently as possible. If it is possible to have work such as park maintenance done less expensively, the city should do so. It should have done so long ago.
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Kansas’ tax system is broken, according to spending advocates
According to Gary Brunk, executive director of Kansas Action for Children, the Kansas tax system is broken. It’s the same message you hear from other organizations that depend on state funding, such as the public school spending lobby. In their eyes, the problem that needs fixing is that Kansans aren’t taxed enough to support their…
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Kansas Action for Children calls for tax increase
Reporting by Paul Soutar of the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy shows Kansas Action for Children (KAC) calling for higher taxes on Kansans. Soutar cites a KAC report: “The long-term solution to avoid increasing budget gaps is to update and modernize the Kansas tax system in a way that accurately reflects the current economy…
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In Wichita, special assessment financing gone wild
At today’s meeting of the Wichita City Council, a privately-owned condominium association is seeking special assessment financing to make repairs to it building.
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Articles of Interest
Kansas liberal Republicans, student rights, greenwashing, historic preservation, Sotamayor.
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Kansas school spending lobby pot calls kettle black
After the 2009 Kansas Legislature ended its session in May (notwithstanding the formal closing in June), the Kansas National Education Association (KNEA, the teachers union) produced a document wrapping up the session and setting the stage for the future. Kansans need to be aware of the agenda of this organization and its allied school spending…
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Beef checkoff a tax by another name
Jen Rezak of Americans For Prosperity — Kansas explains the Beef Checkoff Program, part of the 1985 farm bill.