Haircut or comb-over?

(Syndicated to Kansas newspapers July 8, 2013)

Martin HawverIt’s time to take a look at that new tax policy wrinkle thought up by the Kansas Legislature last session. It bears the most benign name: Haircut.

Amid the contraction of tax brackets from three to two done in 2012, and the lowering of those rates last year…there is this haircut business.

What it means is that some of those deductions we’ve all grown cozy with—say the portion of your mortgage payment that is interest on the loan or the property taxes you pay—are no longer a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your taxable income.

They get a haircut.