A bill phasing out Kansas grocery sales tax has been signed into law. Governor Kelly held a signing ceremony Wednesday at a grocery store in Olathe, while echoing her campaign pledge to 'ax the tax.' "I will continue to urge the legislature to move up the start date," Kelly said. "But the important thing is that the tax cut got done."
Many lawmakers had criticized the governor for vetoing their earlier plan for a tax reduction in 2019. But Attorney General Derek Schmidt called it a win for Kansas. "I think the governor is focused more on the politics of the issue," Schmidt said. "She spent a lot more time in grocery stores around the state with a television camera and a hatchet, then she did actually working with legislative leaders to get something done," he added.
The new law drops the 6.5% grocery tax rate to 4% in January, then to 2% in 2024 and to zero in '25.