A Wichita company CEO applied for a sales tax exemption. Now as chair of the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce, he wants you to pay more sales tax, even on the food you buy in grocery stores.
High Touch Technologies in downtown Wichita.When High Touch Technologies wanted to purchase and improve the building that houses its headquarters in downtown Wichita, the company asked for and received property tax relief and an exemption from paying sales taxes.
So far this story is not unusual. Many companies receive this type of tax relief. Some get it year after year, to the tune of some $658 million in the case of Boeing.
High Touch Technologies campaigns for higher sales taxes, even though it received a sales tax exemption.But the case of High Touch Technologies is of more than usual interest. At the time of the request in November 2013 the company’s CEO, Wayne Chambers, had just been selected as chair of the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber, along with its subsidiary Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition, are the main agencies in charge of economic development for the Wichita area. Under Chambers’ leadership, these organizations recommended that the city council authorize a vote on raising the Wichita sales tax for the purposes of economic development. The council did that, and in November Wichita voters will decide whether to create a city sales tax of one cent per dollar. Twenty percent of the proceeds are earmarked for job creation.
To summarize: A Wichita company CEO applied for a sales tax exemption. Now he wants you to pay more sales tax, even on the food you buy in grocery stores.
One response to “For Wichita Chamber of Commerce chair, it’s sales tax for you, but not for me”
ictator
“Equal treatment under the law,” is nice in theory but let’s look at reality when the rubber meets the road. What a joke from the chamber of cronies.
The worst enemies of capitalism are Wichita chamber crony capitalists! I suspect that there are more just like them in Topeka and the other cities across this state. The scales need to be tilted in their direction.
Leave a Reply