Property Tax Alert: Kansas

May 2008

The 2008 substitute for House Bill No. 2543, if enacted as written, would violate the Kansas Constitution because it would create a property tax exemption based upon a characteristic or status of the taxpayer. The bill would create a preferential property tax exemption for new home construction intended to be sold by a commercial home builder. This would violate the "uniform and equal" rule set forth in Art. 11, Sec. 1, of the Kansas Constitution because it does not accord the same exemption to home builders who do not intend to sell the new home construction. Accordingly, the proposed bill creates an unconstitutional or preferential classification based upon ownership.

Please contact Rash & Associates for more information.