Approximately 10,000 watercraft are registered in the surrounding states to Kansas residents to avoid the 30% property tax rule. Watercraft includes boats, jet-skis, canoes, sailboats, etc. Drive around a marina or place that stores boats and see how many tags are Kansas. I think it's pathetic that if I signed a waiver saying I operated the boat over 50% of the time in Oklahoma that I would save $1,500 bucks a year.
The real question is what is this money funding? We have serious water and reservoir issues in Kansas and I would like to think this tax is being put toward that. The tax would have to be lowered by $600 per boat to be as cheap as Oklahoma, and we would only be gaining 10,000 registrations by doing that. I fail to see how this could increase revenues.
The money is treated as any other property tax and is lumped in and dispersed as such. Where KDWPT is hanging their hat is that those 10,000 watercraft will be registered in Kansas and, therefore, are subject to KDWPT registration. That would immediately recapture $32.50 each in registration fees, for $325,000 total. That money is directly earmarked for KDWPT boating for things like dock upkeep, ramps, marina inspections, boat inspections, enforcing vessel operation, etc.
In addition to this argument, they believe that the lessening of the property taxes on boats will increase boat ownership, the valuation of the boats being purchased, and myriad of other things.
The serious water and reservoir issues were never addressed and will never be solved by this property tax rule.
