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Supreme Court ruling raises questions about KC earnings tax

Justices rule 2 states can't tax same income

People in Kansas City are asking whether a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday could save them hundreds or thousands of dollars every year.
People in Kansas City are asking whether a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday could save them hundreds or thousands of dollars every year.
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Supreme Court ruling raises questions about KC earnings tax
Justices rule 2 states can't tax same income
People in Kansas City are asking whether a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday could save them hundreds or thousands of dollars every year.The court issued a ruling that double taxation is unconstitutional, making it illegal for two states to tax the same income.People who live in Kansas but work in Kansas City, Missouri, pay 1 percent of their salary to Kansas City.Devin Wilson is one of those people who works just steps across State Line Road in Kansas City, Missouri. He said he pays a good chunk of change to Kansas City at tax time, taxes he wouldn’t have to pay if he worked just a few feet to the west.“The company I work for has some offices on the Kansas side that don’t have to pay that tax,” he said. “So I kind of look at them and say, ‘What’s the deal?’But Wilson said he also liked drinking clean water, having trash picked up and police protection, all of which are paid for under Kansas City’s earnings tax.“We’ve gone through this battle many times and Kansas City and St. Louis have both come out winners in this particular issue,” said accountant Peter Newman, who also hosts a weekly radio show.He said he thinks the earnings tax is certainly double taxation, but he doesn’t expect anything to change and he wouldn’t expect taxpayers to get refunds.A brief filed with the court said the ruling could affect Kansas City’s earnings tax, but a city spokesman said that opinion is wrong and the city’s legal team thinks the tax will survive.Newman said the issue is complicated, but that’s the nature of taxation.Tax policy experts at Kansas City’s H&R Block are combing through the case to look for local impacts.“Nobody likes paying taxes. Nobody wants to pay extra taxes compared to somebody else, but I haven’t really complained too much,” Wilson said. “So we’ll see how this plays out.” 

People in Kansas City are asking whether a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday could save them hundreds or thousands of dollars every year.

The court issued a ruling that double taxation is unconstitutional, making it illegal for two states to tax the same income.

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People who live in Kansas but work in Kansas City, Missouri, pay 1 percent of their salary to Kansas City.

Devin Wilson is one of those people who works just steps across State Line Road in Kansas City, Missouri. He said he pays a good chunk of change to Kansas City at tax time, taxes he wouldn’t have to pay if he worked just a few feet to the west.

“The company I work for has some offices on the Kansas side that don’t have to pay that tax,” he said. “So I kind of look at them and say, ‘What’s the deal?’

But Wilson said he also liked drinking clean water, having trash picked up and police protection, all of which are paid for under Kansas City’s earnings tax.

“We’ve gone through this battle many times and Kansas City and St. Louis have both come out winners in this particular issue,” said accountant Peter Newman, who also hosts a weekly radio show.

He said he thinks the earnings tax is certainly double taxation, but he doesn’t expect anything to change and he wouldn’t expect taxpayers to get refunds.

A brief filed with the court said the ruling could affect Kansas City’s earnings tax, but a city spokesman said that opinion is wrong and the city’s legal team thinks the tax will survive.

Newman said the issue is complicated, but that’s the nature of taxation.

Tax policy experts at Kansas City’s H&R Block are combing through the case to look for local impacts.

“Nobody likes paying taxes. Nobody wants to pay extra taxes compared to somebody else, but I haven’t really complained too much,” Wilson said. “So we’ll see how this plays out.”