By: Tate Orneals
On Jan 1. of 2025, the food tax in Kansas will be at 0%. An article written by the NYC Food Policy discusses the food tax in Kansas has been on the decrease since 2023. In just one year the food tax went from 6.5% to 4%. This bill is believed to help those that fall into a low-income category. The bill was signed in May of 2022 with many people in favor of it. The bill specified that food, food ingredients, and specific prepared food would be included in this bill. Local county and city taxes will still be included at checkout.
Kansas is one of thirteen states that has a state tax on food items, with the rate being at 6.5% just a few years ago. With rising costs of necessities, kslegislature stated that Laura Kelly saw a need for affordability in the state of Kansas, thus the food tax bill was introduced. Kansas is not the only state calling for a need to lower the food tax. States like Oklahoma and Alabama are also calling for an end or even just a reduction in food tax saying it should not even be a thing to begin with since food is deemed a human need. Other states like Illinois temporarily suspended their food tax, but it has since resumed.
No taxes on food items could greatly benefit people who already have a challenging time getting access to food. This would also eliminate the food desserts that are occurring in Kansas at the borders because people flock to neighboring states with lower food taxes. Eliminating those food desserts would make food even more accessible than it was before. This would save people from having to spend more money on transportation and/or fuel to get to those communities with access to food. In less than two months, Kansans will be seeing the benefits of the no food tax.
