Topeka Sales Tax Increase Proposal

 

Americans for Prosperity-Kansas opposes efforts by the Topeka City Council to increase the sales tax for Topeka, as the current tax burden already imposed on residents is high enough.

 

Increasing the sales tax by a half-percent would cause Topeka to jump to the 11th highest sales tax rate statewide. Out of more than 700 taxing jurisdictions in the state of Kansas, Topeka currently ranks 58th.

 

The city council is consider several options for putting a sales tax on the ballot in November. We wish to remind them that they have another option to consider: no sales tax increase at all.

 

We appreciate work by the Topeka City Council to comb through the budget in order to find areas in which to reduce spending. Although we do not support tax increases, we applaud the attempt to keep the proposed increases at a minimum, and encourage the council to continue such hard effort in the future.

 

 

AFP Issue Brief

On Proposed City of Topeka Sales Tax Increase

 

August 25, 2008

 

  • Of the more than 700 taxing jurisdictions in Kansas, Topeka already has the 58th highest sales tax rate.  Another 1/2% would bring us to 11th highest. 

 

  • Topeka’s budget has increased 32% in just 4 years, from 2004 – 2008.

 

  • In that same time, Topeka’s debt payments, which are bond and interest expenses, have increased by $11 million, a whopping 64%.

 

  • Topeka is gaining government jobs but losing private sector jobs
  •  
    • There are 6,600 fewer private sector jobs in the Topeka Metropolitan areas than the previous high in May of 2001.
    • However, there are 1,000 additional government jobs since that time.
    • A reduction of 1,200 state government jobs but a whopping 2,400 more local government jobs.

 

  • Over the last five years, the Public Works Administration Department’s spending increased by 116%.
    • According to the Topeka City budget web site, this office “develops short-term and long-term plans for the department and is responsible for the coordination of programs.”
    • It appears that the City has cut back its spending on the ‘doing’ and spent more on the ‘planning’ since over the same five year period, spending on the actual ‘doing’ part of the budget increased by only 18 percent. 

 

  • The Topeka City Council has been diligent in combing through the budget to find alternatives to large tax increases. We appreciate their efforts to minimize the impact on citizens through a smaller tax increase, but encourage them to find ways to craft a city budget without adding to Topekans’ tax burden.