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White flag up, tax is down
The Missouri-Kansas border war over taxes has been brought to an amiable close. That means Johnson Countians and other Kansans to a lesser extent will no longer be subject to a higher tax bill brought on by the Missouri General Assembly. Taxation without representation, some called it.
Missouri legislators were trying to deal with an Illinois problem and Kansas got caught in the crosshairs. They disallowed nonresidents working in that state from claiming a deduction for their property taxes on the Missouri income tax bill.
Kansans were furious. Relations became even more strained when the General Assembly did not abolish the provision at the first opportunity last year.
The Kansas Legislature’s patience eventually evaporated. Legislators countered with a similar measure that put the squeeze on Missourians and residents of other states working in Kansas – if their state did not have a reciprocal law.
Missouri finally blinked this year, at the urging of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. It was fortunate that the chamber intervened and helped persuade Missouri legislators to recognize the error of their ways.
Last week, Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder signed corrective legislation in Kansas City, Mo., formally ending the conflict. Now both states have measures that protect residents who file income tax returns outside the states in which they reside.
Rep. Kenny Wilk, R-Lansing, who led in passage of the Kansas bill, said in an interview that the Missouri law was costing Kansans about $5 million a year, much of it paid by Johnson Countians. The inconvenience is not quite over, he said. Kansans will have to file amended returns on their 2007 taxes to square things up.
This episode should not have occurred. There is mistrust enough between the two states without Missouri bumbling its way into episodes like this, then taking its good time in providing a remedy.
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Missouri legislators were trying to deal with an Illinois problem and Kansas got caught in the crosshairs. They disallowed nonresidents working in that state from claiming a deduction for their property taxes on the Missouri income tax bill.
Kansans were furious. Relations became even more strained when the General Assembly did not abolish the provision at the first opportunity last year.
The Kansas Legislature’s patience eventually evaporated. Legislators countered with a similar measure that put the squeeze on Missourians and residents of other states working in Kansas – if their state did not have a reciprocal law.
Missouri finally blinked this year, at the urging of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. It was fortunate that the chamber intervened and helped persuade Missouri legislators to recognize the error of their ways.
Last week, Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder signed corrective legislation in Kansas City, Mo., formally ending the conflict. Now both states have measures that protect residents who file income tax returns outside the states in which they reside.
Rep. Kenny Wilk, R-Lansing, who led in passage of the Kansas bill, said in an interview that the Missouri law was costing Kansans about $5 million a year, much of it paid by Johnson Countians. The inconvenience is not quite over, he said. Kansans will have to file amended returns on their 2007 taxes to square things up.
This episode should not have occurred. There is mistrust enough between the two states without Missouri bumbling its way into episodes like this, then taking its good time in providing a remedy.