University Daily Kansan, February 22, 1983
Page 3
Tax for rich would rise under House proposal
By United Press International
The bill's sponsor, State Rep. Robert Wunsch, R-Kingman, told the House Assessment and Taxation Committee individuals earning less than $20,000.
He also said the bill would raise $13 million in new taxes for the state and result in about a $25 tax increase for wage earners on the low end of the tax rate.
State Rep. Ed Rolfs, R-Junction City, questioned the equity of the proposed tax structure because it would not raise the rates of corporations and banks.
KANSAN'S WHO EARN between $20,000 to $25,000 a year now pay taxes at a rate of 8.5 percent of their income Income above $25,000 is taxed at 9 percent. Wunsch's bill would create a new bracket for taxpayers who earn between $20,000 to $30,000 by placing
their tax at 9 percent.
He said individuals whose income is at the top end of the new bracket would pay about $25 more a year, while those with lower incomes would pay on an additional $50.
However, tax rates for higher wage earners would jump significantly with the creation of additional tax brackets.
For example, single Kansans earning as much as $50,000 a year would experience a $200 difference in couple couples filing joint returns would pay an additional $450
WAGE EARNERS ON a $50,000 to $100,000 income scale would pay a 12 percent tax rate and those at more than $100,000 would pay 14 percent — constituting about a 50 percent increase in their present tax liability.
If a severance tax is imposed on the oil industry, Wunsch said, he would consider a tax credit so the industry would not suffer from two tax hikes. It would also encourage taxpayers would be affected in each of the proposed new brackets.
Kansas House approves bill on SRS eligibility
TOPEKA — The Kansas House voted 95-26 yesterday to pass a bill that would give the secretary of the state Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services authority to determine who would be eligible for general assistance benefits.
Carlin had proposed that general assistance benefits be stopped for all able-bodied people between the ages of 18 and 60, as he did. His bill did not go before the House.
Robert Harder, SRS secretary, has said that Carlin's proposal would have saved the tax $3 million in fiscal year 1983, and almost $20 million in fiscal year 1984. A report by SRS estimated that Carlin's proposal would have stopped benefits for between 4,000 and 6,000 recipients.
State Rep. Jessie Branson, D-Lawrence, who voted in favor of the substitute bill, said, "A lot of people thought this was voting for the cuts, but this just wasn't so."
IF THE SECRETARY is not given
The bill goes to the Senate for study tomorrow...
the flexibility to make adjustments to the general assistance program, she said, he will have to take money from Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Medicaid and other programs to finance general assistance.
The House Ways and Means Committee passed the bill last week as a substitute for a bill proposed by Gov. John Carlin.
State Rep. John Solbach, D-
Lawrence, who voted against the bill,
said, "If my vote had been needed to
i耍, I would have voted in favor it."
Solbach, who is a member of the committee, said last week that he had voted against passing the bill then because he did not think he could be successful in supporting for the University of Kansas if he had voted to reside general assistance.
The bill would not lock the Legislature into the reductions that Carlin's proposal would have made, he said. If money became available, the bill would be used to let some people who would have lost assistance to continue to receive it.
State Rep. Betty Jo Charlton, D-Denance voted in favor of the bill. She said that the Legislature should raise more money by tightening exemptions in the sales tax sp that it could continue to finance general assistance in addition to the governor's budget.
The Kansas House gave tentative approval yesterday to a bill that several Lawrence city commissioners said would make it easier for the city to collect on delinquent special assessments.
Foreclosure bill gets local support
Developers and homebuilders now owe the city more than $1 million in rent payments.
The special assessments are used by developers and builders to finance sidewalks, sewers and similar public improvements. The city finances those improvements by issuing general obligation bonds, which offer a lower interest rate to the developers than commercially available loans.
The bill would allow cities to foreclose on property because of delinquent property or assessment taxes after a two-year waiting period instead of the three years now required by law.
PROPERTY OF LESS than one acre that is used for a home in a city or of less than 160 acres in the country will not be affected by the bill and would
still require a three-year wait before foreclosure.
The House will take final action on the bill tomorrow.
The assessments are to be paid by the homeowner instead of the builder when the house is sold and are to be paid off during a 10-year period. But because of the stump in the housing market, many lots in the city remain empty, and builders still are responsible for the assessments.
Rep Jess Branson, D-Lawrence, said yesterday that she supported the bill and thought it would help Lawrence collect the delinquent assessments.
She said that if the assessments were not paid by the developers, the taxpayer would have to make up the difference.
Rep. Betty Jo Charlton, D-Lawrence, said that she supported the bill but that it would not be approved.
sbb uh dq dq dq dq dq dq HAAP she did not think delinquent property taxes should be included in the bill. Cities also should be more careful to avoid letting the
assessments become delinquent, she said.
Rep. John Solbach, D-Lawrence,
said that he thought it was probably a
good bill but was not sure how he would
vote on it.
Rep. Larry Erne, D-Coffeyville, said that he thought the bill was a poor one.
He said that cities should not approve the assessments unless they thought the debt could be retired. He did say, "We don't worry about economy had put developers into a bird."
He said that cities were responsible for the delinquent assessments. They should look at the past record of delinquencies and more granting the assessments, he said.
city Commissioner Nancy Shontz said that she the bill would help the city collect on the delinquent assessments and might make builders think twice about using the assessors to finance risk business ventures.
SHE SAID ALSO that the city should be more careful in deciding which
builders could use the special assessments.
She said, however, that the city could still take a loss on property that had been improved but not built on it and that could be given up to give up the property for tax sale.
Mayor Marci Francisco said that she thought the bill could help Lawrence collect on the assessments.
Commissioner Don Binsn said that he would have preferred a one year waiting period, but that two years was a good compromise.
He said that he was not sure whether the city should be blamed for the problem of delinquent assessments because during the 1970s the special assessment system saved homeowners money.
The city staff met with developers and builders owing delinquent special assessments earlier this month to devise a payment plan. They will meet with the City Commission Monday in a study session to present their plan for repayment of the assessments.
Carlin aide defends tax hike
By United Press International
TOPEKA — A spokesman for Gov. John Carlin told a Senate tax panel yesterday that the governor considered the oil and gas industry better able to handle a tax increase this recession than any other group of Kansas taxpayers.
Furthermore, Carlin does not believe the industry would be weakened drastically by the imposition of a severance tax on oil and gas production, Steven Holsteen, the spokesman, told the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee. The panel conducted the first severance tax hearings of this session yesterday.
Holstein warned the 11-member committee, which is nearly evenly split over the severance tax, that Carlin would veto any severance tax to prevent it from interests of the oil and gas industry against the people of Kansas.
"MOREOVER, (THE VOTERS) do not want a severance tax that is so inadequate it would necessitate other tax increases," Holsteen said.
Senate President Ross Doyen, R- Concordia.
"On what basis do you make that claim in print?" he said.
Carlin's statement Friday, that he would veto any severance tax bill proposed by Doyen because it catered to the oil and gas industry, drew angry response yesterday from the Legislature's leaders.
Sen. Charlie Angell, R-Plains, lashed out at Holsteen for indicating in his testimony that oil and gas representatives played a key role in drafting a severance tax bill proposed by a severance tax opponent,
House Speaker Mike Hayden, R-Atwood, and Senate President Ross Doyen, R-Coronado, issued a brief statement expressing disappointment in the remarks Carol made at his weekly News conference.
The two men criticized Carlin for what they said was his attempt to achieve good government through intimidation, threats and de-
regulatory managers HAYDEN SAID CARLIN'S statements indicated the beginning of a breakdown in negotiations between the three leaders on key issues of the 1983 session. Hayden said he and Doyen did not want to see that happen.
Mike Swenson, Carlin's news secretary, said the governor was not trying to intimidate the Legislature into adopting his proposals without changes. Swenson said he was thinking of making lawmakers where he stood on Doyen's severance税 bill and clarify his feelings about a gasoline tax hike.
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TONIGHT
The great composer's tragedy and triumph . . . told by the cinematic genius of NAPOLEON, Abel Gance:
"Foreign students are a learning resource for instructors, and also for those who are taught by foreign graduate students. We should encourge them to broad spectrum of foreign students to apply to Kansas universities."
Un Grand Amour de
Beethoven
7:30 p.m.
STATE SEN. John Solbach, D-Lawrence, a member of the committee, said, "You might receive extra money from it but you're going to send a message out that we don't want foreign students to come to this state.
Bill would redefine non-resident status
Woodruff Aud.
$1.50
THIS WEEKEND
TOPEKA — Residency requirements for foreign students and out-of-state students would be tightened under a bill passed yesterday by a House committee.
The House Ways and Means Committee discussed the bill, which would redefine classification of students and increase non-resident tuition fees.
State Rep George Dean, D-Wichita,
said non-resident students ended up
paying only about 50 percent of their
education expenses.
Fri./Sat. 3:30, 7:00, 9:30 Fri./Sat. 12:00 Midnight Woodruff Aud.
Dean said he wanted the Kansas Board of Regents to make foreign students pay the full cost of their education.
SPECIAL PRESENTATION
However, Dean said the bill would only redefine the classifications for non-residential students, and he said it will insist on immediate fee increases.
The committee is expected take final action on the bill later this week, and the bill then will be sent to the full House.
Friday & Saturday, February 25 & 26
7:00, 9:00, 11:00 p.m. $1.50
"A good percentage of Kansas students are alien students," he said. "Some professors tell me these students require more of their time and have a harder time understanding the material."
And, he said, students came to Kansas from as far as the East Coast, because an education at Kansas universities was cheaper, even though the students had to travel across the country.
"Many of these students come from countries where they can easily pay for full education," he said. "Yet they come to Kansas universities and we pay for half their education". DEAN, WHO sponsored the bill, said 73 percent of students at the University of Kansas were Kansas residents.
"We're glad we have a good education system. We'd just like these students to pay their own way."
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