A Johnson County business owner said he’s moving his company and his employees across the state line to Kansas City, Missouri, in part because of the tax cuts and budget shortfalls in Kansas.Jeff Blackwood said he’ll be relocating his Pathfinder Health Innovations, a health care data company, from Johnson County to Kansas City’s Crossroads district at 17th and Main streets.“I can’t, in good conscience, continue to give our tax money to a government that actively works against needs of its citizens,” he said, reading from his recent blog post..He said Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax cuts, which were designed to spur job growth in the state, aren’t working.“I do not in any way support the Brownback administration’s actions,” Blackwood said.He said those actions include funding problems for a mental hospital in Osawatomie, the closure of a state rehabilitation office for the disabled in Lawrence and ongoing school funding problems.“We take care of people here and that is exactly the opposite of what is occurring,” Blackwood said.In a statement sent to KMBC, Brownback spokeswoman Eileen Hawley said she was not familiar with the specific situation of Blackwood’s company.“We do know that Governor Brownback’s tax policy has attracted a record setting number of new businesses for five consecutive years, most recently totaling 17,298 new Kansas businesses in 2015,” she said.Blackwood said he hopes his 10-mile move will send Brownback a message.“I want the voters of Kansas to understand what their vote means,” he said.Blackwood said he’s an independent voter and does not work for any political organization. He said he supported Brownback’s Democratic rival, Paul Davis, in the last election, but he’s simply fed up with the Kansas tax policy.You can read his full blog post here

A Johnson County business owner said he’s moving his company and his employees across the state line to Kansas City, Missouri, in part because of the tax cuts and budget shortfalls in Kansas.



Jeff Blackwood said he’ll be relocating his Pathfinder Health Innovations, a health care data company, from Johnson County to Kansas City’s Crossroads district at 17th and Main streets.




“I can’t, in good conscience, continue to give our tax money to a government that actively works against needs of its citizens,” he said, reading from his recent blog post..



He said Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax cuts, which were designed to spur job growth in the state, aren’t working.



“I do not in any way support the Brownback administration’s actions,” Blackwood said.



He said those actions include funding problems for a mental hospital in Osawatomie, the closure of a state rehabilitation office for the disabled in Lawrence and ongoing school funding problems.



“We take care of people here and that is exactly the opposite of what is occurring,” Blackwood said.



In a statement sent to KMBC, Brownback spokeswoman Eileen Hawley said she was not familiar with the specific situation of Blackwood’s company.



“We do know that Governor Brownback’s tax policy has attracted a record setting number of new businesses for five consecutive years, most recently totaling 17,298 new Kansas businesses in 2015,” she said.



Blackwood said he hopes his 10-mile move will send Brownback a message.



“I want the voters of Kansas to understand what their vote means,” he said.



Blackwood said he’s an independent voter and does not work for any political organization. He said he supported Brownback’s Democratic rival, Paul Davis, in the last election, but he’s simply fed up with the Kansas tax policy.

You can read his full blog post here