Brownback Signs Sales Tax Exemption

Kansas residents are getting a sales tax break to rebuild fences on agricultural land after wildfires burned more than 1,000 square miles.

Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill Wednesday that would allow people to buy supplies to rebuild their fences without paying sales tax. It goes toward rebuilding fences that burned, not new construction. The Legislature passed the measure unanimously.

Brownback says the tax break doesn’t make up what farmers and ranchers lost but it could help ease the recovery.

Lawmakers gave a similar tax break last year after a wildfire caused damage in two counties. Brownback also declared a state of emergency March 5 and signed an executive order to help bring in relief supplies.