Heartland Apartment Ass'n, Inc. v. City of Mission

Hill, J.:

In this era, when all cities and towns thirst for revenue to provide basic governmental services, we must decide if a transportation user fee, enacted by the City of Mission, is a tax, and if so, decide if it is an excise tax not permitted by the Kansas Legislature. We offer our perspective on the two issues that arise in this litigation.

Is this a tax?

Annually, Mission, Kansas collects a transportation user fee on all improved real estate, using it for public street maintenance. If an owner fails to pay, the city imposes late fees, interest, and attaches a lien on the real estate.…