KANSAS CITY, Mo. — I work in Missouri, but I live on the Kansas side of the state line. I also have three kids in elementary school.
So, the annual tax-free holiday weekend represents a couple of questions in my house: is it worth it to drive to Missouri to purchase school supplies and clothes? And in doing so, will we contend with the crowds of people who are doing the same thing?
I'm certain that other Kansas families ask the same questions.
I spoke with three Kansas state senators about the future chances of the Sunflower State instituting a similar holiday.
State Sen. Virgil Peck, a Republican who represents District 15 in southeast Kansas, is the vice chair of the Kansas Senate Committee on Assessment and Taxation. He told me that he's been pushing for a tax-free holiday weekend since 2006.
"We're closer than we've ever been," Peck said. "I honestly believe that 2024 will be the year."
Peck told me that Kansas is a Streamlined Sales Tax member state (Missouri is not), so lawmakers would have to make sure that any sales-tax holiday law works with rules already in place.
Peck also says that Kansas could choose to institute a four-day tax-free weekend, and could make the dollar amount allowances higher than those set for Missouri.
Sen. Tom Holland is a Democrat representing District 3, which includes parts of Douglas and Leavenworth Counties. He's also the ranking member of the Assessment and Taxation Committee.
Holland said that legislators need to "dive down in the weeds" more on the potential legislation, and decide what items actually should and should not be included in the tax-free weekend.
Kansas Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, a Democrat, agrees.
"It hasn't been a high priority for the Republican leadership," Sykes said. "But it does have bi-partisan support, and Governor Kelly supports it."
Sykes represents parts of Johnson County.
Depending on the bills introduced in the next session, Kansans may not have to travel to Missouri for the back-to-school shopping season in 2024.
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