Kansas Legislature votes to ease up on tax penalties amid coronavirus pandemic
With thousands of Kansans struggling from furloughs and business shutdowns due to the coronavirus, the state Legislature has voted to waive penalties and interest on late property tax payments.
The bill waives late charges on property taxes that get paid by Aug. 10.
Those payments were initially due May 10.
But some Kansans have complained they couldn’t make the deadline because they’re strapped for cash amid the economic dislocation caused by the pandemic, which prompted Gov. Laura Kelly to issue a stay-at-home order that shuttered thousands of businesses statewide.
The bill also requires that any late fees that have already been paid since the deadline be refunded to the taxpayers who made late payments.
If the interest due is more than $25, counties will have to send a refund. If it’s less, it will be up to counties to decide whether to give the money back.
The idea of waiving interest on late payments surfaced at the county level in April.
Sedgwick and Johnson counties considered doing that, but neither could figure out how without violating state law.
During Sedgwick County’s debate, County Treasurer Linda Kizzire pleaded with commissioners not to order suspension of interest.
She said the amounts are generally minimal — less than 1 percent of the tax owed per month — and it would probably cost more to process the change than the payments are worth.
The computer system can’t handle it, so interest waivers would either have to be processed manually, or the computer would need to be reprogrammed.
“I think it’s going to be very costly for us to even ask our vendor to look at changing how we can post our payments,” Kizzire told commissioners in April.
The bill also contains a provision that would require greater disclosure from cities and counties about their property tax income.
It encourage municipalities to essentially freeze their property tax income at the same amount every year.
They’d accomplish that by reducing the tax rate if property valuations increase.
If a city or county wants to keep all or part of the increase, they’d have to publish a notice on their website and hold a public hearing to give disgruntled taxpayers a chance to speak.
This story was originally published May 22, 2020 at 9:14 AM.
