The Kansas Statehouse in Topeka.

TOPEKA — Gov. Sam Brownback on Tuesday vetoed a bill that included provisions prompted by a $50 million income tax dispute between the Department of Revenue and retired businessman Gene Bicknell.

The bill would have clarified the process by which taxpayers could appeal their disputes from the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals, an administrative body within the Revenue Department, to a Kansas district court, which hears the dispute as an entirely new case.

That provision was strongly supported by Bicknell, the retired former owner of Pittsburg-based National Pizza Co. He is currently embroiled in a dispute with the Department of Revenue over his 2005 and 2006 income taxes.

Brownback, however, wanted to repeal that portion of current laws so that individuals could take property tax disputes to district court, but not disputes over income taxes or other forms of taxes.

During conference committee negotiations, Brownback’s proposal was attached to another bill dealing primarily with property tax issues. But when it reached the floor of the Senate, it met with stiff opposition, especially from Senate President Susan Wagle, R-Wichita.

It was then sent back to the conference committee, which stripped out Brownback’s proposal.

“All Kansas taxpayers should have a fair and impartial system of justice,” Brownback said in his veto message. “Tax obligations should be contested before the Board of Tax Appeals and not by seeking special treatment through the legislative process.”

The bill would not directly affect Bicknell’s tax dispute either way because it is currently being reviewed by the Kansas Supreme Court.

Before the change allowing de novo reviews to district courts was enacted, rulings of the Board of Tax Appeals were taken to the Kansas Court of Appeals, where the burden of proof was on the taxpayer to show that the board’s decision was in error.