Kansas State Representative Ken Corbet (R-District 54) has sent a letter to Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach asking for his legal opinion on whether disparities in property valuations across the state violate the Kansas Constitution’s requirement for uniform and equal taxation.
“Our property tax system is broken, and Kansas taxpayers deserve answers,” Corbet said in a release. “When properties are not assessed consistently across the state, it raises serious questions about fairness and whether taxpayers are being treated equally under the law.”
According to the Kansas Department of Revenue’s Property Valuation Division, many counties fail one of several valuation compliance tests. The table below, from Appendix B of Corbet’s letter, shows that many counties routinely fail the coefficient of dispersion (COD) test. The standard for overall appraisal level is a median ratio confidence interval within 90% to 110% accuracy. The most current data from 2025 shows 47 counties failed that test.
With so many counties out of compliance on median ratio standards, Corbet asks whether that violates the “uniform and equal” clause of the Kansas Constitution.
He also asks “whether the same pattern (of) gross, documented multi-year disparities in assessment ratios between similarly situated properties and counties, persisting despite PVD’s own knowledge of them, also violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution….”
Additional evidence supporting Corbet’s questions
Indeed, as The Sentinel previously reported, research conducted by The Sentinel’s parent company, Kansas Policy Institute (KPI), shows that nearly 9 out of 10 decisions on property tax appeals decided by the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals (BOTA) since 2019 were found either partially or fully in the taxpayers’ favor.
This discovery runs counter to the familiar refrain from the political establishment to taxpayers that “property appraisals are correct.”
In his column for KPI, its CEO Dave Trabert explained the “Stipulated” result in the table, as the burden of proof is often on the taxpayer to show the appraisal was in error:
“Stipulated” often means the county was playing a game of chicken with the taxpayer. Counties have no meaningful out-of-pocket costs for a case going to BOTA, but taxpayers often spend thousands on attorneys and private appraisals to prepare their case. Taxpayers tell us that counties reject local appeals and allow cases to proceed to BOTA, forcing taxpayers to spend more money preparing for trial. At the last minute, counties offer to settle because they know they will at least be partially overruled by BOTA.”
Corbet said inconsistent property valuations can create inequities in the tax system, potentially shifting tax burdens among property owners and affecting how the state distributes school funding.
“When some properties are significantly undervalued compared to others, the consequences can extend beyond individual tax bills,” Corbet said. “Homeowners, businesses, and school districts all have a stake in ensuring our property tax system is fair, accurate, and consistent.”
Corbet said his request for an Attorney General’s opinion is meant to clarify the state’s constitutional obligations and determine whether changes are needed to ensure equal treatment of Kansas taxpayers.
“This isn’t about pointing fingers or assigning blame. It’s about recognizing that we have a responsibility to ensure our tax system treats every Kansan fairly,” Corbet said. “If the system isn’t working as the Constitution requires, we have an obligation to fix it.”
