Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has vetoed a bipartisan tax cut package that was approved by the Legislature, saying it is too expensive.  She is proposing an alternative plan that she wants lawmakers to consider when they return to Topeka.

The governor’s plan would cost $433 million a year, which is $90 million less than the bipartisan package.   The plan has several key features:

• Accelerates the elimination of the state’s sales tax on groceries to July 1;
  
• Keeps the current three tax brackets in place, but lowers each of the tax rates;
  
• Increases the standard deduction, personal exemption, and child care tax credit for dependent care expenses;
  
• Immediately eliminates state taxes on all Social Security income; and
  
• Cuts property taxes for Kansans by exempting the first $125,000 of all homes from the statewide property tax levy. 

The governor said the bipartisan plan would jeopardize the state’s future financial stability, and it risks reversing the progress the state has made with regard to the budget.