(Syndicated to Kansas newspapers Dec. 7, 2015)
While Kansas is looking for a new slogan to lure tourists, businesses and economic prosperity to the state, we Statehouse habitués are waiting to see how that last catchy slogan—“tax amnesty”—worked out.
Kansas has put out a request for bids to gin up a new slogan that will help the state market itself to the nation and world, a few catchy words that will galvanize English readers and draw them here. Forgot that last state slogan? From 2004 to 2011, it was “Kansas…as big as you think.” It just evaporated rather than wore out, and most of us never heard anyone humming “as big as you think” in the liquor store, bars or across the border in Missouri…or anywhere else.
That’s why the state is looking to contract out to some private business creation and promotion of a new slogan, because the last catchy phrase thought up in-house, or at least in the Statehouse, was “tax amnesty” and we’ve got no idea yet, but some indications are that it didn’t catch on.
Tax amnesty? Remember, it was a key to meeting the state’s budget for this fiscal year, to allow delinquent taxpayers to pay up without penalties and interest, a way to get off the hook for debt to the state with no additional baggage.
The concept was that if folks who owed the state tax money could pay it off without any of those pesky penalties and interest, well, they’d contact the Department of Revenue, pay what they owed, and use that penalty and interest money for maybe a party or to hire a new roofer for their business.
Kansas lawmakers and the governor thought that there was probably about $30 million in delinquent taxes owed the state, and it would roll in from taxpayers seeking absolution for tardy payments.
Did “tax amnesty” work? Well, it doesn’t look like it, at least yet, because those tardy taxpayers’ back taxes were just rolled into the general income and sales tax receipts reported by the Revenue Department last week with no catchy asterisk noting how much was regular tax payments and how much was from that amnesty program. It all blended together.
Upside? Well, if you didn’t watch Statehouse activities closely enough, you’d just be glad that the state took in about $7.7 million more than expected for the month. That’s always good news.
Downside? If the state has been taking in that penalty-free money under the amnesty program and still just raised $7.7 million more than expected, that means the amnesty didn’t raise near the $30 million lawmakers hoped for, and state revenues continue to drop, which means that the state won’t have enough money to pay its bills through the current fiscal year, and won’t have any left to help pay for next fiscal year.
We’re thinking that maybe fresh eyes and ears can come up with something snappier than the amnesty catch-phrase to bring more people and their money to the state.
If “bigger than you think” didn’t draw people and investment and prosperity to Kansas, we’re wondering what contractors will think up for a new slogan that will boost the state’s public image and make it worthwhile to skip those other states to come here.
No telling whether “cozier than you think” or “flatter than you think” or maybe just “just to the right of Colorado” might be the key to a slogan that will make Kansas stand out.
There’s probably a slogan—and bids for thinking one up and selling it to the state end at the Department of Administration just after lunch (2 p.m.) Dec. 23—that might actually give the state a boost.
It appears “tax amnesty” didn’t work out as expected. Who knows? Maybe “Tax Amnesty!” would have ginned up more excitement…and revenue.