Kansas Revenues Continue To Decline

Kansas says its tax collections fell nearly $13 million short of expectations in October for the state’s sixth consecutive monthly shortfall.

The state Department of Revenue’s report Tuesday came a week before the election with allies of Republican Gov. Sam Brownback facing a backlash in legislative races over the state’s budget problems.

The state collected $447 million in taxes last month when its official projection was nearly $460 million. The shortfall was 2.8 percent.

Since the current budget year began in July, total tax collections of $1.8 billion have fallen more than $80 million short of expectations for a shortfall of 4.2 percent.

Brownback said a rural recession is responsible for the monthly revenue shortfalls. His critics blame personal income tax cuts he pushed to help stimulate the economy.