TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas collected $49 million less in taxes than expected in January, giving Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and the Republican-controlled Legislature a dose of bad news Friday at the start of debates over education funding and tax relief.
Kellys top revenue official and a GOP legislative leader were quick to say a single month of disappointing tax collections is not yet a trend. But it broke a streak of 19 consecutive months of better-than-anticipated collections the longest since at least July 1966 leading Kelly to declare extra funds for public schools were in the bank as Republicans promoted income tax relief.
Kelly already has urged GOP legislators to wait at least a year to consider tax legislation and said Friday that the state must be cautious. But House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, a conservative Wichita Republican, said the lower-than-expected tax collections raise questions about Kellys budget proposals.
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