TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly is discounting Republican calls to rescind a policy requiring out-of-state online businesses to collect sales taxes on sales in Kansas and remit the tax to the state.

On Monday, Attorney General Derek Schmidt issued a nonbinding opinion that Kelly’s administration did not have the legal authority to impose the policy, which some experts said is the nation’s most aggressive policy for collecting state and local taxes on online sales.

House and Senate GOP leaders then demanded that Kelly drop the policy, which the Kansas Department of Revenue issued in August. The tax collections were scheduled to take effect Tuesday.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Kelly on Tuesday said the policy reflected existing state law and would promote tax fairness. She said it would help Kansas businesses compete with out-of-state retailers.