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The Trump administration's proposal to slash the tax rate on partnerships and limited liability companies could set off a stampede of individual taxpayers trying to reclassify themselves as so-called pass-through businesses in order to take advantage of the savings, according to tax experts. In 2012, Kansas exempted pass-throughs from state income taxes, a move that was billed as a chance to spur so much business growth and job creation that it would actually raise money for the state treasury.
Top Republican lawmakers in Kansas are working on new proposals for raising income taxes to fix the state budget that include a plan similar to one Governor Sam Brownback vetoed. Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning said Wednesday that fellow GOP senators are drafting a plan to retain separate rates for lower- and upper-income earners.
Estes is state treasurer and won a special election for the 4th Congressional District seat previously held by CIA Director Mike Pompeo. Estes plans to step down as state treasurer when he's sworn in as congressman.
Kansas is preparing for a new fiscal forecast for state government this week that officials hope is more optimistic and makes fixing serious budget problems easier. The forecasting group plans to meet Thursday to revise a pessimistic forecast issued in November.
However, these winning appointments have exposed an embarrassment of riches. As conservatives move up the chain of command, someone has to take their place.
In this April 1, 2017 file photo, Republican GOP congressional candidate in the 4th district Ron Estes votes with his wife Susan Estes at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kan. Republicans escaped a special House election in Kansas with a single-digit victory in a district where they have romped in the past, an early warning sign for the GOP at the start of Donald Trump's presidency.
To understand why Tuesday's special election in Kansas matters in American politics, it's important to remember that incumbent politicians run two kinds of campaigns - unopposed and scared. After Republican state Treasurer Ron Estes won a narrow 7-point victory over Democratic candidate James Thompson in a congressional district that Donald Trump won by 27 points in November, there's little doubt that many congressional Republicans are going to start running scared.
Gov. Sam Brownback, left, shakes hands with WATC president Sheree Utash after signing a bill that officially affiliates Wichita State University with the Wichita Area Technical College, during a ceremony Wednesday at WSU's Experiential Engineering Building. Gov. Sam Brownback, center, signs a bill that officially affiliates Wichita State University with the Wichita Area Technical College, providing benefits to its students as well as the university, during a ceremony Wednesday at WSU's Experiential Engineering Building at the Innovation Campus.
Republicans have survived an election scare to win a House seat in the first congressional election since President Donald Trump's victory, but the next contest for a seat in Georgia could be tougher. The party saw its winning margin in Kansas' 4th House district shrink from 31 per cent in November to just seven per cent on Tuesday, as state treasurer Ron Estes fought off a challenge from Democrat and civil rights lawyer James Thompson.
In the first special congressional election since President Donald Trump took office, a Republican candidate won a narrower-than-expected victory in a district President Donald Trump easily carried less than six months ago. State Treasurer Ron Estes won the U.S. House seat vacated by Mike Pompeo, who now serves as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
In this March 23, 2017, photo, Democrat James Thompson, a candidate for Kansas' 4th Congressional District, speaks during a debate in Wichita, Kan. President Donald Trump stepped into a surprisingly competitive special congressional election in Kansas Monday, April 10, 2017, recording a get-out-the-vote call on behalf of Republican candidate Ron Estes.
Members of Topeka's medical community say St. Francis Health Center's Denver owners could close the hospital after failing to secure a deal with potential buyers. SCL Health, which has reported financial losses in recent years, placed St. Francis on the market 11 months ago, leaving 1,600 employees increasingly anxious about its future.
During Senate debate Thursday on a bill to turn Kansas into a flat-tax state, Sen. Tom Holland, D- Baldwin City, said said the flat tax would be nothing more than a policy win for Brownback, with no solutions for Kansas' budget. Sen. Caryn Tyson, R-Parker speaking during debate on a bill to turn Kansas into a flat-tax state, described the proposal as the "closest thing I've seen to a fair tax code in the state of Kansas."
Think tanks and interest groups across the political spectrum denounced a flat tax bill that failed in the Senate on Thursday and had been endorsed by Gov. Sam Brownback and Senate leaders. TOPEKA - Think tanks and interest groups across the political spectrum denounced a flat tax bill that failed in the Senate on Thursday and had been endorsed by Gov. Sam Brownback and Senate leaders.
Grass fires fanned by gusting winds scorched swaths of Kansas grassland Monday, forcing the evacuations of several towns and the closur... . Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Chaplain Jeff Thompson passes bags of chips to, from left to right, Suzanne Morgan, Carol Shaylor and Linda Nimmo Monday, March 6, 2017, inside an evacuation center at the Kansa... .
As the nation's governors wrapped a weekend of meetings with each other and President Donald Trump that included discussions about healthcare, Kansas is attempting to discern what direction Washington will go. A group of Republican governors is pushing a plan that would change Medicaid - which provides healthcare to poor, elderly and disabled individuals - from an open-ended federal entitlement to a program designed by each state within a financial limit.
After announcing he would veto the tax bill sent to him by the legislature, Gov. Sam Brownback officially signed the veto, in his ceremonial office Wednesday, February 22, 2017, as he stood in front of the assembled media. Gov. Sam Brownback's veto of tax legislation represents a "credit negative" to Kansas, a ratings agency said Monday - a label that amounts to a warning shot for the fiscally challenged state.
The Kansas Legislature is taking four more days off than usual for this standard break in the session, according to Legislative Administrative Services.