Gov. Mark Parkinson (D) gave a shout-out to our State-Local Tax Burdens report in his State of the State address:
The TaxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. Foundation rates each state every year for its combined state and local tax burden. It’s an objective way of finding out where we stand. Its findings for 2009 are the same as its findings for most prior years. Kansas is below the national average for taxes that we pay. Below. It is a remarkable achievement. Our founders were cunning and frugal enough to build a great state without taxing us out of business.
We appreciate the shout-out; the numbers show that Kansans pay 9.6% of their income in state and local taxes, a hair under the 9.7% national average. This means that Kansas residents have the 21st highest state-local tax burden. The state also ranks #32 on the State Business Tax Climate Index, meaning 31 states have more business-friendly tax systems.
All in all, Kansas should be proud of its accomplishments but shouldn’t rest on its laurels.
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