 Last night, the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee unanimously passed Senate Bill 444 out of committee. SB 444 would lower the states sales tax rate on food from the current rate of 6.5% to 4% in 2020 and then down to 2% in 2021. The bill now moves to the full Senate for consideration.
 A new resource from KC Healthy Kids and the Public Health Law Center will help Kansas gardeners and farmers better understand policies relating to season extension activities.
 Tim White tried to keep the Hiawatha Thriftway open in ways that might bring customers through the door. He welcomed community growers to have a farmers market in the parking lot. He stocked his store’s fresh section with locally-grown produce.
 A report from our policy team shows that Kansas’ current 6.5% sales tax on food hurts economic activity and people’s health, especially in rural areas.
 The evidence is mounting, and people in charge of Kansas’ laws have started to pay attention as KC Healthy Kids has led the charge to get rid of the Kansas’ tax on groceries.
 Republican or Democrat…moderate or conservative, the feeling is mutual…there is an issue that needs to be fixed: taxes on food.
Karen Siebert knows what role the Kansas grocery tax plays for her clients at Harvesters, a nonprofit that helps provide food to people in 16 Kansas counties and 10 Missouri.
A report released by KC Healthy Kids shows that Kansas’ current 6.5% sales tax on food hurts economic activity, especially in border counties. The study found the current sales tax drives shoppers across state and county lines to save money on food. The result is slowed sales growth in counties on the state line, and cannibalization of income among Kansas counties.
As tax day approaches, many Kansans are anxiously awaiting their tax returns. This year, however, many will get less than in years past, when they may have been refunded money that went toward sales tax on food. But 2012 was the last year Kansas issued that refund. The change will impact about 385,000 eligible Kansans who used it.
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