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Clunker tax repealed

Staff reporter

Much to the delight of Kansans, the "clunker tax" is no more.

The vehicle sales tax bill was introduced and passed by legislators in 2004 in an effort to stop people from falsifying a bill of sale when purchasing a car from an individual.

County personnel then were required to charge the buyer sales tax on the property tax value of the vehicle instead of the actual price paid.

For example, a vehicle may have a property tax value of $2,000 but for various reasons only sell for $1,000. The buyer still had to pay sales tax on the $2,000 because that was the value the state placed on the vehicle and not the true value.

Earlier this year, Kansas lawmakers repealed the tax and Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius signed it Feb. 25.

With the repeal, Marion County residents who purchased a vehicle from an individual between July 1, 2004, and Thursday qualify for a refund of some of the state sales tax.

According to Kansas Department of Revenue, any individual who purchased a vehicle from another individual and paid sales tax based on the property tax value of the vehicle instead of the vehicle's sale price, is eligible to make application for a refund of excess sales taxes collected.

This does not include vehicles purchased from dealers.

How to apply for a refund

The application for a refund is available at the web site for the department of revenue: www.ksrevenue.org.

"Applications also are available at the treasurer's office," said county treasurer Jeannine Bateman. Applications may be picked up at the office located in the courthouse or they can be mailed upon request.

A copy of the county treasurer's sales tax receipt is required with the application, and a copy of one of the following documents: title, bill of sale/purchase invoice, or canceled check that was used to purchase the vehicle.

The completed application and required copies of documents should be sent to: Kansas Department of Revenue, Customer Relations, Vehicle Refunds, 915 SW Harrison St., Topeka KS 66625.

Claims must be made within six months and the refund must be for $10 or more.

Applicants should receive refunds within four to six weeks after the claim is filed.

Assistance

"We can provide a copy of the sales receipt if a person has misplaced theirs," Bateman said.

Approximately 60 titles per week are processed by the Marion County treasurer's office. Of those, more than half are sales from individuals.

Refunds will be distributed by the state but will be drawn from future sales tax revenue that is distributed to counties and cities.

Bateman said it was impossible to determine the amount of tax revenue that will be affected.

The refund distributed is the difference of taxes overpaid by the resident, not a full refund of the sales tax.

With the change in the law, when individual vehicle sales are taxed, the individual will declare the amount paid for the vehicle and sales taxes will be assessed on that amount.

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