(Kansas) Legislative tax committee members may have conflicts of interest on tax plan

[deminks]

http://www.kansas.com/2012/01/22/2185537/legislative-tax-committee-members.html

TOPEKA — Members of the state Legislature’s tax committees aren’t just key decision makers on Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax plan — they’d also be among its biggest beneficiaries.

Twenty of the 23 members of the House Taxation Committee have business interests that would be exempted from state income tax under the Brownback plan. In the Senate, nine of 11 members of the Assessment and Taxation Committee have interests that would go untaxed.

The data is reported in the lawmakers’ statements of substantial interest, a form all state officials are required to file disclosing business interests that could affect their governmental duties.

After looking at the data gathered by The Eagle, Senate Minority Leader and tax committee member Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, suggested that some of the members should consider recusing themselves from voting on the plan.

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Welcome to Brownbackistan. This is the state tax plan that increases the taxes on the poor and reduces them on the rich, written by an aide to St. Ronnie the Reagan.