Governor Sam Brownback has unveiled a new tax proposal that would lower income tax rates, put the state on a path to no income tax, and would eliminate a host of popular deductions in the state tax code.
Advocates for the poor expressed concern that the plan would end the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which benefits the working poor. The Governor, however, insists that the funds from ending the EITC will not go towards tax cuts but will rather be used to fund state social services programs that assist the needy. His plan also doubles the standard deduction often claimed by lower income filers.
Nonetheless, critics of the plan contend that it still places a disproportional burden on those with low incomes. The governor’s surrogates respond, however, that the plan is fair and that the needy stand the most to gain from the economic growth and increase in jobs that the plan is designed to encourage.