Kansas has enacted a sales tax exemption for farmers and ranchers who are rebuilding fences damaged by massive wildfires that burned through hundreds of square miles earlier this year.
Any purchases made in 2016 that are used to rebuild fences damaged by wildfires will be exempt from sales taxes under a bill signed by Gov. Sam Brownback Wednesday.
Back in March, a massive wildfire started in northern Oklahoma and quickly spread into Barber and Comanche counties in Kansas, where it killed livestock, destroyed homes, bridges and thousands of acres of grassland. It also took miles and miles of fence.
Gimmie Jo Jansonius travelled back to her parents' ranch near Medicine Lodge after the fire. She says they’re having to feed their cattle by hand as they repair about 100 miles of fence.
“Typically if you hire someone to come in and build fences by the mile, you’re looking at $8,000-10,000 per mile of fence,” Jansonius says.
The temporary tax exemption will provide a bit of relief.
Those farmers and ranchers who have already rebuilt their fences could be eligible for tax reimbursement.
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