Higher taxes: A look at five ways we’ll be paying more

Five ways we'll be paying more after new state taxes kicked in on July 1, 2015.

Always circle July 1 on your calendar. If the state is going to make you start paying higher taxes, July 1 is usually the day it will do it. That’s what happened to shoppers across the state Wednesday as new tax rates took effect. Here’s a look:

• Taxes to Topeka: To help the state dig out of its revenue shortfall, legislators approved a statewide 0.35 percent increase in sales taxes that go to the state’s coffers. That means in Lawrence, the sales tax rate that applies to most parts of the city is now 9.05 percent, up from 8.7 percent.

• Hello, 10 percent: There are parts of Lawrence where you’ll pay more than 10 percent on purchases made. Lawrence has three special taxing districts that add 1 percent onto the standard tax rate. The extra taxes are used to pay for transportation improvements — and parking — for the developments. The areas are: The Oread hotel near the Kansas University campus, the Bauer Farm development at the northeast corner of Sixth and Wakarusa, and the new Marriott hotel building at Ninth and New Hampshire streets. The rate in those districts is 10.05 percent.

• The food bill: Legislators had talked about creating a lower sales tax rate for grocery purchases. But that part of the bill didn’t get approved by legislators, though it is expected to be discussed next year. In the meantime, get ready to pay more for food. On a $100 grocery bill, the tax increase amounts to 35 cents. Do that 52 weeks a year, and it is an extra $18.20 you’ll spend to keep the cupboard stocked.

• Up in smoke: It is still a better deal to buy food than cigarettes in Kansas. Smokers are now paying an extra 50 cents per pack after the state approved an increase in the cigarette tax. The total tax on a single package of cigarettes is $1.29.

• Shopping around: Lawrence’s rates are still somewhere in the middle of the pack compared with other area communities. Topeka’s rate checks in at 9.15 percent, Olathe’s at 9.225 percent, Overland Park 8.85 percent and Kansas City 9.125 percent. But be on the lookout for special taxing districts in those cities too. Kansas City, for example, has special taxing districts near the Kansas Speedway and the Schlitterbahn that have rates as high as 11.125 percent. Lawrence does have the highest sales tax in Douglas County. Baldwin City’s new rate is 8.75 percent, Eudora’s 8.5 percent, and Lecompton’s 8.5 percent.