Topeka — Could it be buried treasure? Or an alternative to raising some taxes? Those are some questions being considered about what a tax amnesty program would mean to Kansas.
The chairman of the Kansas House Taxation Committee and two Lawrence legislators said Thursday they were interested in considering a tax amnesty program in Kansas to help the state climb out of its $400-plus million budget hole.
"I'm open to it and I'll probably take a look at it," said Rep. John Edmonds, R-Great Bend. "I don't want to raise them, but I don't mind collecting them if we've already got the laws on the books."
Edmonds and other state legislators contacted Thursday said they hadn't yet discussed a tax amnesty program, where taxpayers would be forgiven the penalty and interest in return for coming forward to pay their back state income taxes.
Such a program could have the potential of bringing in millions of dollars from delinquent filers, considering the experiences of other states with similar programs.
For example, Stateline.org, a Web site that watches legislative activities, reports that such a program in Louisiana brought in $80 million, while Maryland's program raked in $39 million. Several other states are either in the middle of such programs or are considering creating them.
Kansas, with its own $400-plus million revenue shortfall, is faced with the prospect of raising taxes and cutting programs this year. Gov. Bill Graves has proposed raising the cigarette tax, the sales tax and the motor fuels tax and vehicle registration fees to raise $228 million to help bring in more revenue this year. Other tax increase proposals are starting to come out of the Legislature.
A Lawrence state representative on the House Taxation Committee also sees a tax amnesty program as a possibility.
"We're facing the worst budget shortfall in a quarter of a century," said Rep. Troy Findley, D-Lawrence. "And I think legislators are open to exploring all possible options in order to resolve it. This is one option we have not yet explored."
Findley said Kansas stepped up its tax collection and enforcement efforts last year by adding collection personnel to the Kansas Department of Revenue.
Revenue Secretary Stephen Richards told the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday that those efforts have brought in $41.1 million in this fiscal year, compared to $22.1 million during the same period in the previous year.
"We are on target on schedule to finish this year in meeting our goal of $48 million in increased collections," Richards said in his testimony to the committee.
Edmonds said so far no one has brought a tax amnesty proposal yet to his House panel. He said he would prefer such a program to a tax increase.
"It's worth looking at, certainly," he said.
State Sen. Sandy Praeger, R-Lawrence, a member of the Senate Taxation Committee, said lawmakers have discussed the idea in past years, but no one had yet brought it up formally as of Thursday for this year.
For that reason, she's decided to ask the Legislature's research department to find out how other states are using such programs and estimate how much Kansas might reap with such a program.
"I'm going to suggest it to the chair of the (taxation) committee in the Senate," Praeger said. "I think I will suggest we ought to explore it. . . We are looking under every rock for buried treasure."
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