Sales taxes on groceries have an especially harmful impact on income and racial inequities since low-income families tend to spend a larger share of their income on groceries. The lowest-income fifth of families spend almost twice the share of their annual income on food at home that the highest-income fifth do. For the lowest-income families, food at home is the third-highest expenditure category as a share of income, after housing and transportation.
Thirty-two states plus the District of Columbia exempt most food purchased for consumption at home from the state sales tax. Kansas is not one of them.
We must put an end to this burdensome tax.