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Fifteen days over their 90-day session, lawmakers in Kansas have struggled to find a solution to their $400 million overspending problem. You would think it would be simple, cut spending by an additional 6-percent as Senator Ty Masterson has proposed. Instead, they have gone to a Conference Committee with only six legislators crafting an entirely new tax plan after several plans to raise taxes failed to gain traction in either the House or Senate.

The result of the Conference Committee thus far has been startling and a betrayal of Kansas taxpayers.

House Tax Committee Chairman, Marvin Kleeb, has made an initial offer that would result in a $2.7 billion tax increase. It would raise a multitude of taxes including the sales tax, income taxes, and an 82% increase in tobacco taxes – while adding a new, un-vetted tax on to e-cigarettes and e-liquids.

Worst of all, the Kleeb offer would effectively end the March to Zero, a plan pushed by Gov. Sam Brownback, and passed by the legislature, to phase out the state income tax using economic growth. This would be a disastrous reversal for Kansas taxpayers. Americans for Tax Reform urges lawmakers in Topeka to oppose any Conference Committee proposal that includes net tax increases or a repeal of the March to Zero.