TOPEKA, Kansas -- A legislative committee in Kansas is considering a bill that would drop the Kansas gasoline tax by six cents per gallon at gas stations near the state's borders with Oklahoma and Missouri, said the Associated Press.
Oklahoma and Missouri's gasoline tax is 17 cents per gallon, compared to 24 cents in Kansas. Kansas retailers told the state House Transportation Committee that the seven-cent difference puts them at a disadvantage when their businesses are close to Missouri or Oklahoma.
The proposed bill would set [image-nocss] up a competitive border tax zone within 3,000 feet of a state line or for an entire city when its boundaries include a state line.
Committee member Rob Olson said lawmakers panel must be sure other businesses are not hurt if the bill passes.
"I think for us it's a great thing. I do think it would accomplish what they want as far as keeping the money in Kansas," Sandy Rich, an employee of a Phillips 66 in Prairie Village, Kansas, told WKMBC-TV.
"I'd say about 85% of our customers arepeople who come from Kansas," added Eric Stevens, with Larry's Sinclair across the state line in Missouri.
State Representative Virgil Peck, who lives on the Oklahoma border, is a proponent. He told the news outlet that he is convinced the tax loss will be offset by increased sales.
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