To the editor:

After living in Kansas all my life and owning lake property in Missouri, I’ve discovered how Kansas is losing thousands of tax dollars.

In Kansas, when you buy a used boat from any individual, you pay no sales tax, but if you buy that used boat from any dealer, you pay sales tax. Kansas loses several thousand dollars a year on lost sales tax revenue on boats.

In Missouri, boats are the same as cars: You pay the difference between the boat you sold and the one you bought.

Motor homes (recreation vehicles) in Kansas are taxed (property taxes) by weight, not by value. In other words, you could own a $100,000 motor home and pay less than $200 a year on property taxes. They should be taxed by value.

In Kansas, when you go to sell your existing automobile, the only way to pay the difference in sales tax is to trade your vehicle in to a dealer for low wholesale value. In Missouri, you have your choice to either trade your vehicle in to a dealer or sell it yourself, which allows 180 days to complete the transaction. You receive a sales tax rebate for the difference.

In summary, Kansas tax laws are a mess. With an automobile you must own to get to work – no tax break. Luxury items like boats and motor homes get tax breaks.

Let’s copy Missouri tax laws on automobiles, recreation vehicles and boats. This will help our tax revenues.

Ken Fangohr,

Lawrence