Tax season is never a pleasant time of year. At least not until the refund checks roll in.

Those who were eagerly awaiting their checks should have been warned not to hold their breath, however.

The state of Kansas had all refund checks and government payroll on hold earlier this week.

The delay includes paychecks for thousands of Kansas educators and other government employees.

The hold was a result of a political stalemate.

After officials realized there is a lack of funds in the state’s account to pay for refunds and government employee payroll, Republican and Democratic resolutions clashed.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius proposed a $225 million loan, which was approved Wednesday, that takes state funds to pay Kansans on time. This would mean more debt but no waiting for working people.

Republicans threatened to refuse to approve the plan until Sebelius signed their budget proposal, which would cut more than $300 million with more than $30 million coming out of education funds.

Sebelius said Republicans merely were using the situation to pressure her into signing their budget plan.

The Republicans said they are trying to make the most responsible decisions in order to keep Kansas out of more debt.

It’s a shame Kansas taxpayers had to be caught in the middle of this political tug-of-war.

It can be expected to see people losing faith in our state leaders when late tax payers are fined for tardiness while the government holds checks and members stomp their feet about who gets what bill passed.