According to the Kansas City Star, property taxes in Kansas are skyrocketing thanks to budget shortfalls and rising property values. Mary Coffman and her husband retired and bought a home in Kansas in 2014. Since then, their property taxes have gone from $3,200 to $5,600 a year, which is more than double what they were paying in Oklahoma. The issue is statewide as Kansans now pay more than $5 billion in property taxes each year — the 18th highest burden among states. The numbers come from WalletHub.
“As funding for schools, cities and counties was cut over the last decade, local units of government were left with few options to make ends meet. Increasing property taxes was one of them,” Kelly said in her State of the State address this month. “This left local communities frustrated, and put a desperate strain on working Kansans and Kansans living on fixed incomes — especially our seniors. They need relief, and we can give it to them in 2020.”
Meanwhile, Republicans are promising to improve property tax transparency. Sen. Caryn Tyson, a Parker Republican who chairs the Senate Tax Committee, said GOP lawmakers plan legislation that would require local governments to vote if they want to collect more property tax dollars than last year.
The change would prevent cities and counties from collecting more simply by increasing property valuations. Tyson contends most property taxpayers aren’t as concerned about the valuation or mill levy as they are about the bottom line amount they pay.
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