Topeka ? A move is afoot to repeal a recent law that was designed to catch car-tax cheaters.

State Rep. Harold Lane, D-Topeka, said the measure, which went into effect July 1, has become better known as “the most despised law of the 2004 legislative session.”

The law deals with the sale of vehicles between individuals.

Under the measure, the buyer of a vehicle is assessed taxes on the greater of the selling price or property tax valuation of the motor vehicle.

This was intended to prevent people from paying less in taxes on a vehicle by saying that they bought the vehicle for less than they actually did.

But now people who are getting good deals on used vehicles, sometimes because of damage to the vehicles, are now having to pay taxes on a much higher valuation.

“This law singled out buyers of clunkers and junkers,” said Lane who is seeking repeal of the law. A legislative committee is looking at either recommending the law be abolished or altered.

For more on this story, pick up a copy of Tuesday’s Journal-World.