Kansas store moves 100 feet to Missouri to avoid taxes, regulations
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QuikTrip Reopens in Missouri Free of Kansas Regulations and Higher Taxes
Normally the opening of a new QuikTrip store is not a news item. But, tomorrow the QuikTrip Convenience Store at 27 Southwest Blvd will reopen in Kansas City, Missouri after ”moving” about 100 feet from Kansas to avoid higher taxes and more burdensome regulations in Kansas.
In late August the store closed its operation in Kansas and was torn down. The store was then rebuilt on the same site, but with the store, cash registers, and gasoline tanks on the Missouri side of the state line.
The Aug 26, 2009 Watchdog report said Kansas will lose about $1.4 million in taxes every year from this one store leaving the state and no longer collecting sales and gasoline taxes.
Tim Heuback, QuikTrip Division Manager, appears in the video below to explain the move. Tim shows the approximate location of the state line and explains that while the gas pumps may be in Kansas, the gas storage tanks are in Missouri and that determines what tax is paid.
Following Heuback in the video, there is a short segment showing part of a statement by Kansas House Majority Leader Ray Merrick. Merrick commented that the store could save a $1 million by leaving Kansas. “That’s unbelievable,” he said, and then asked, “How many other businesses do we have along the state line that will do the same thing?” Merrick explained that “we have to make the taxing policy of the state want people to come here.”
Earlier reports indicated the tax on a carton of cigarettes after the move would be $5 less in Missouri. Gas taxes are also lower in Missouri.
Kansas only allows 3.2% beer at a convenience store, but in Missouri 5% beer and wine and other liquors may be sold.
Related:
- Kansas to lose $1.4 million in taxes every year when store moves 100 feet into Missouri, Kansas Watchdog, Aug 26, 2009.
- QuikTrip Store Relocates A Few Feet Away, KMBC TV, Aug. 25, 2009.
Posted under Business, Economy, News, Regulations, Taxes.
Tags: Free market, Kansas, Missouri, QuikTrip, Ray Merrick, Regulations, Taxes
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9:36 pm on October 28th, 2009
Great story, Earl. The Connecticut River may prevent us from taking advantage of this with Vermont gas stations, but we can certainly relocate a few from Maine and Massachusetts.