Opponents to Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposal for cutting Kansas income tax rates say during a Statehouse event that Republican’s plan is misguided and would punish working families.

Brownback and his supporters were planning a news conference of their own on Wednesday, touting support for tax cuts.

Both events were held ahead of the first of 3 planned days of hearings over the proposal by the House Taxation Committee.

The governor proposes to collapse the state’s three income tax brackets into two and eliminate a number of credits and exemptions, a move he says makes the Kansas tax system flatter and fairer. He’s seeking to end the state’s earned income tax credit for low-income residents, saying the money would be invested in other social programs aimed at the working poor.