Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) will propose tax revenue increases in order to address the state’s budget shortfall, the Wichita Eagle reported on Saturday.
Brownback announced last month that he would initiate budget cuts to help fill the large budget deficit projected to reach $279 million by June 2015. Jon Hummel, the governor’s chief of staff, told the Eagle that the governor would specifically target the state’s education budget.
Brownback implemented steep income tax cuts during his first term in office, which prompted some state Republicans to back the Democratic candidate in the 2014 election.
Hummel said that the governor is still focused on limiting spending despite the proposal to increase tax revenue.
“Revenue didn’t come in quite as was projected,” he told the Eagle. “If we can do some things on the tax side and do some things on the budget side and still maintain that overall philosophy, then he’s always been open to that.”
“It’s not so much cutting spending as limiting the growth in spending,” Hummel added about the governor’s proposal.
