TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Republican attorney general declared Monday that Democratic Gov. Laura Kellys administration lacked the legal authority to impose an aggressive policy for collecting state and local taxes on online sales.
Top Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature called on Kelly to rescind the state Department of Revenue policy immediately after they received a legal opinion from Attorney General Derek Schmidt.
But the departments top administrator, Secretary Mark Burghart, a veteran tax attorney himself, said in a statement that the department is obligated to follow its current course unless told otherwise by the courts. He maintained the agency is only trying to enforce existing Kansas tax laws in light of a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year allowing states to collect sales taxes on internet sales.