SerpApi.Org
There’s wide agreement among Kansas governor candidates that property taxes have risen dramatically and the next governor, whoever it is, should do something about it.
How exactly to address the issue, though, has proven more divisive.
Republican Senate President and governor hopeful Ty Masterson has said property taxes are “something that has to be tackled.” Republican entrepreneur Philip Sarnecki has called it “the No. 1 issue” for voters. Democrat Ethan Corson said he hears about property taxes all across the state.
The average taxable assessed home value in Kansas increased more during the last five years than it did in the 15 years prior, according to data from the Kansas Department of Revenue.
But for the last few years, the Legislature has tried and failed to pass broad legislation to address rising property valuations and local tax rates.
This year, Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly backed a proposal from Corson, a state senator who has earned Kelly’s endorsement in the governor race, for about $500 million in property tax relief using one-time tax credits, incentives for local governments and state property tax exemptions.
Republicans in the legislature ignored that proposal and forged ahead with their own plan limiting annual spending increases by local governments by allowing just 10% of local voters to sign a petition to block the increase.
Kelly vetoed the bill. She has argued the state has less control over property taxes than promises from lawmakers suggest. Property taxes collected in Kansas go to school districts, city governments, county governments or other special taxing districts like townships and libraries.
On the campaign trail this summer, candidates for governor have touted their plans to address property taxes across the state.
Finger pointing and tax breaks
Masterson, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, blamed Kelly and House Republicans for failing to pass property tax legislation, arguing he did his job as Senate president pushing multiple proposals through the upper chamber despite their eventual failure. He highlighted legislation that passed last year repealing the 1.5 mill state property tax for education and state buildings.
If elected, Masterson said he would pursue his plan to reduce property taxes, dubbed the Kansas Homeowners Bill of Rights, that includes a constitutional amendment to cap property valuation increases, a cap on local government spending and a freeze on property taxes for low-income seniors.
“There’s more work to do, and as governor, I will continue to reduce taxes and fight for caps on runaway local spending,” Masterson said in a statement.
Sarnecki, who has regularly lambasted his fellow candidates as career politicians, has criticized Masterson for failing to provide property tax breaks for homeowners while approving tax breaks for businesses.
He said if elected he would work to end tax abatements for big corporations and renewable energy projects, while trying to grow the Kansas economy to share the tax burden.
“Data centers, foreign companies, green energy and professional sports teams are all getting tax relief, but working people in Kansas are getting nothing,” Sarnecki said in a statement. “This is wrong. That will change once I’m governor.”
Democratic governor hopeful Cindy Holscher, who held a comfortable lead in the primary contest, according to an independent poll from June, said Kansans need relief and blamed Masterson for failing to get anything through the Legislature.
She proposed lowering the taxed percentage of home values from 11.5% to 9%, and adding tax exemptions for seniors and disabled veterans. She said the state needs to direct more money to fully funding public education so local schools don’t have to cover funding gaps with higher property tax levies. Finally, she argued for an end to special tax breaks for huge corporations owned by billionaires.
“We’re just going to have to get legislative leaders from both sides of the aisle in a room until they agree on a framework,” Holscher said. “It will be among the very first things I do when I’m governor, and I won’t let the Legislature kick the can down the road anymore.”
More candidates weigh in
Corson said he would establish a Property Tax Force to study other states and develop a plan to control taxes.
He touted his record as the leading Democrat on the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee and his efforts to pass property tax legislation last session.
“I have a proven record of working across the aisle to cut taxes, successfully leading the efforts to eliminate the state sales tax on groceries, remove taxes on social security benefits, freeze property taxes for fixed-income seniors and eliminate sales taxes for 100% disabled veterans,” Corson said.
Republican Secretary of State Scott Schwab was one of the first candidates to announce a plan to tackle property taxes. He calls his plan the BALD plan, a nod to his hairless head, which stands for “better affordable living by decreasing property taxes.”
The plan has nine steps, including prioritizing seniors and working families, tax refunds for inaccurate assessments and giving voters a bigger say in new tax increases.
Republican Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt said the Legislature has been “playing games” and “proposing political gimmicks” with property taxes. She said her plan would involve getting stakeholders around a table to identify the best steps and ensure implementation is consistent across the state.
Local issue
Republican Nicholas Reinecker and Democrat Curt Skoog both said that real property tax reform would need to be done at the local level with citizens attending meetings and running for office.
Skoog, the mayor of Overland Park, said property taxes have become an affordability concern for homeowners in Kansas, but solutions would need to come from local decision-making, not state-wide caps. He touted Overland Parks’ lowest-in-the-state property tax rate.
If elected governor, Skoog said he would focus on the broader economy to relieve the tax burden placed on homeowners. He condemned Republican lawmakers for failing to deliver property tax relief and said his local government experience would help him navigate the issue.
“I will work to build consensus across political lines and bring local leaders, legislators, and taxpayers to the table to develop reforms that provide meaningful property tax relief while protecting the services Kansans rely on,” Skoog said in a statement.
Reinecker, a cafe owner from Inman, posited a handful of policies he would consider as governor, including allowing citizens to cap assessments and reducing the state budget.
Abolish property taxes?
Some Republican candidates advocated for abolishing property taxes altogether.
Former Johnson County Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara says the property tax system is so broken due to large tax breaks that it needs to be abolished, something that would cause deep cuts to government programs. O’Hara advocates for dismantling the state department of education and auditing economic safety net programs like SNAP and Medicaid.
Stacy Rogers, a lifelong Kansan and business owner running as a Republican, said she would eventually like to see the property tax abolished. She called it a “collapsing system” due to limited population growth and overuse of commercial and industrial tax breaks. She said she would also work to create a recreational tax to address out of state property owners who aren’t utilizing their land as homes or for agricultural purposes.
“I am looking forward to working with legislature to give Kansans the tax relief they so desperately need,” Rogers said in a statement. “It will require a good relationship with members of our Legislature and the ability to talk with members, regardless of party affiliation to achieve these goals.”
