Topeka ? Raising state taxes would probably do more to hurt the economy than help the state’s budget, the leaders of the Kansas House and Senate told about 200 business executives Tuesday.

Both House Speaker Doug Mays and Senate President Dave Kerr told members of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s legislative luncheon that they believed a tax increase on businesses would be unlikely to win approval from the 2003 Legislature.

“There has been no serious discussions of tax increases,” Kerr, R-Hutchinson, said.

Mays, R-Topeka, said he also thought it was unlikely that the House would approve a plan to repeal several sales tax exemptions that Kansas businesses now take advantage of.

“The business environment in the state is so fragile right now that I don’t think we’re in a position to repeal any of those exemptions,” Mays said.

He also said he didn’t think a majority of House members would be supportive of any plans to redirect Kansas Lottery money currently used for economic development to fund other state services.

Lew Ebert, president of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said he hoped Kerr and Mays were correct.

“I think it is critical that we not have a tax increase,” Ebert said. “We have a very delicate balance right now. Anything that disrupts that balance, which a tax increase would do, wouldn’t bode well for Kansas in either the short term or the long term.”

Kerr said he thought the legislature understood that the state’s budget problems didn’t stem from having tax rates that were too low. Instead, he said he thought lawmakers ought to consider more structural changes to address the state’s fiscal problems.

Kerr said he would like the legislature to look not only at school consolidation but also consolidation of other small units of local government.

“We have about 4,200 taxing units in this state, and on a per capita basis, that is about as high as any place in the country,” Kerr said. “I think we might have more local government than we can afford.”