Voters have approved seven special revenue sales taxes for things like transit, public safety and infrastructure. But taxes collected on online purchases from out-of-state retailers bypass those uses in the city budget.
Sales Tax
Posted inCivic Engagement, Elections, Local Government
What the stadium tax defeat says about teams, their subsidies and Jackson County voters
Editor’s note (April 4, 2024): This story has been corrected to reflect an error about a Virginia tax package to attract stadiums. The Royals and the Chiefs had everything. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce — fresh off of a Super Bowl victory — endorsed a “yes” vote in ads airing on TV and on YouTube. […]
Posted inElections, Local Government
Tax dollars don’t make a stadium possible, just more lavish
Say you’re at a restaurant and you begin to salivate over the menu’s lobster thermidor or a flute of champagne. You might balk at the price — unless someone else is paying the bill.
Owners of teams worth billions think the same way.
Economists say that “gold plating effect” makes stadiums more expensive when taxpayers pitch in.
Posted inLocal Government
KC curveball: If voters OK sales taxes for a ballpark, Royals will ask the city and state for up to $700 million more
The proposed extension of Jackson County’s sales tax won’t be enough to pay for a new downtown Kansas City Royals stadium.
So the team is in conversation with city officials and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to fill a $700 million funding gap with taxpayer dollars from Kansas City and the state.
Posted inState Government
Kansas food sales tax has been lowered, but not everything you eat is eligible for savings
If you check your receipt from the grocery store, you may notice some food items are now being charged less sales tax. That statewide reduction in Kansas food sales tax of 2.5 percentage points took effect on Jan. 1. But what grocery items are actually eligible for the sales tax break is complicated and not […]
Posted inEconomics, Kansas State Government
Kansas lowers sales tax on food, but not everything you eat is eligible for savings
Update: On April 24, Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed legislation that would have accelerated the elimination of state sales tax on food to zero on Jan. 1, 2024. The food sales tax is currently scheduled to fall from 4% to 2% on that date. Though Kelly supported the change, she opposes the larger bill that would […]