When you look at the numbers, it’s hard to understand why many Kansas legislators are hesitant to increase so-called “sin taxes” on cigarettes and liquor while actively advocating for increases in the state sales tax.

In his initial budget plan unveiled in January, Gov. Sam Brownback called for increasing the state liquor tax from the current 8 percent to 12 percent, and nearly tripling the state cigarette tax to $2.29 per pack, compared with the current 79 cents per pack. Neither proposal got much traction in the Legislature although smaller cigarette tax increases have been part of several plans to close the state’s remaining $400 million budget gap.

One of the major objections legislators have to the liquor and cigarette taxes is the contention that Kansas businesses will suffer because more Kansans will cross state borders to buy those products in states with lower taxes.

At the same time, however, Kansas legislators continue to float various proposals to increase the state’s sales tax. Some of those proposals include a reduction in the sales tax on food, some don’t, but there seems to be little concern for the fact that a higher sales tax could drive Kansas shoppers across state borders to purchase a whole range of products, not just liquor and cigarettes.

According to Kansas City news reports back in January, a carton of cigarettes costs about $5 more in Kansas than in Missouri, which charges a tax of just 17 cents per pack. Raising the Kansas tax to $2.29 per pack would raise that differential to about $20 per carton. The liquor tax was a slightly different story. The combined state and local sales taxes collected in some parts of Missouri already exceed the current 8 percent Kansas tax on liquor. Even if the Kansas tax were raised to 12 percent, retailers said, prices in Kansas would remain fairly competitive although the perception of cheaper prices probably would benefit Missouri businesses.

So increased cigarette and liquor taxes might drive some consumers across the state line, but what about the impact of overall sales tax increases? The current sales tax in Kansas is 6.15 percent, compared to 4.225 percent in Missouri. However, Kansas is one of just seven states in the nation that collect their full sales tax amount on groceries. (Five of those states, including Kansas, provide tax rebates or credits for food sales taxes for those who qualify. In Kansas the only option is an income tax credit.) By contrast, Missouri collects a sales tax of just 1.225 percent on food items that could be purchased with Food Stamps. Buying liquor and cigarettes arguably is optional, but everyone has to eat. How many Kansas shoppers already cross state lines to buy their groceries? Even on big-ticket items like appliances or electronics, the difference between Missouri’s 4.225 percent and Kansas’ 6.15 percent could be significant.

Why aren’t legislators worried about that? Are they being more influenced by liquor lobbyists than by concern for Kansas shoppers headed to the supermarket?

It’s just one of the questions hanging over the Kansas Legislature as its members struggle to put together a budget package that’s acceptable both to a majority of its members and to the governor.