House Rejects Senate Tax Plan

The Kansas House has overwhelmingly rejected a new tax plan drafted by top Senate Republicans to impose a lower sales tax on food but keep the tax on all other items at 6.3 percent.

The vote Friday was 109-5 against the measure. The Senate had approved it Thursday evening on a 24-15 vote.

The measure would have lowered the state sales tax on groceries to 4.95 percent in January.

The 6.3 percent sales tax is scheduled to drop to 5.7 percent in July.

Gov. Sam Brownback wants to cancel most or all of the decrease to stabilize the budget while Kansas cuts individual income taxes.

The House adjourned until Tuesday, guaranteeing that the Legislature’s annual session will last at least 95 days, five more than the state constitution specifies.