Opinion: Where’s that property tax relief y’all keep talking about?

By Gina Long

Mr. Glenn visited Topeka this week to speak with Hutchinson’s elected officials. Results were mixed; you can read about his experiences in his opinion column.

I have been tuning in periodically to see if the legislature will take any action on property tax relief.

Not surprisingly, more hot air than ideas floated around the Statehouse.

Some ideas are currently in play, though.

The first proposes a constitutional change. Per HCR 5011’s text, “Proposing to amend section 1 of article 11 of the constitution of the state of Kansas to provide that valuations of residential property, commercial and industrial real property and mobile homes personal property shall be determined based on the lesser of the fair market value or the average fair market value.”

The bill’s history and textual changes can be viewed here on the legislature’s website.

Mainly, Wichita and Johnson County senators introduced the virtually identical SCR 1603.

If a 2/3 majority in both chambers passes this bill, all Kansas voters will have the opportunity to vote for or against it.

Representative Blake Carpenter of Derby introduced HCR 5014, “Proposing to amend article 11 of the constitution of the state of Kansas by adding a new section establishing the freedom from taxes fund, establishing the Kansas Citizens Freedom Review Board, authorizing the board to review tax exemptions and approve or eliminate such exemptions and eliminating the state-imposed property taxes and income and privilege taxes.”

Introduced on March 14, the resolution seeks to replace taxation with an unspecified fund referred to as a “sovereign fund,” which would function similarly to an endowment. The proposal is very thin on details about how such a massive hoard would be accumulated, which would presumably generate enough yearly revenue to replace property, income and sales taxes.

There is no mention of proper oversight and who would make asset-balancing decisions. Those who remember the shiny packaged economic bombs called subprime mortgages that triggered the most significant economic crisis since the Great Depression should be very wary of this proposal.

HB 2011, introduced on January 15, proposed decreasing the ad valorem tax rate imposed by a school district. Shortly afterward, that bill disappeared quietly.

While researching background information for this column, I came across the Tax Foundation’s web page, a nonpartisan tax policy analysis group. I didn’t review all the website’s information, but I did find an article analyzing Kansas’s property valuation system and the potential effects of policy changes. The author advocates for a levy limit and discusses the impacts of that versus limits on valuations. The article link is here if you wish to read more.

As we near the end of a very short legislative session which will be remembered more for posturing, virtue signaling, bullying and trashing the First Amendment than a serious effort to effect positive change in the lives of everyday Kansans, I am left staring at my property tax bill and wondering if there is anyone left in Reno County who represents working-class homeowners.