TOPEKA (AP) — A new study by a non-partisan Washington research group says the poorest Kansans pay a much higher percentage of their incomes in state and local taxes than do the state’s wealthiest residents.
Wednesday’s report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says for the poorest 20 percent of non-elderly Kansans, state and local taxes equal 10.3 percent of their income. For the wealthiest 1 percent, the figure is 3.9 percent.
The institute’s data considers income tax cuts enacted last year.
The report says the percentage of income going to taxes for the poorest Kansans is 2.6 times as much as it is for the wealthiest. Only 13 states have a larger disparity.
Only 11 states have their wealthiest 1 percent paying a lower percentage of their incomes in taxes.