KANSAS CITY — Kansas tax revenues might get a boost from an unlikely and racy source — the sale of sex toys from a chain of adult stores that went belly up after withholding taxes from the state.
The Kansas Department of Revenue says it seized the erotic goods in July after United Outlets LLC (doing business as Bang) failed to pay state sales, income and withholding taxes. According to the Kansas City Star, the company owes the state $163,986.
Now there are literally thousands of furry, buzzy, binding toys up for grabs, all new and in the original packaging, that were taken from five outlets across the state. They will be available for inspection Monday at a warehouse in Kansas City’s West Bottoms.
The inventory, which includes sex swings and bondage rope, is being offered at Equip-Bid.com. Online bidding ends Tuesday evening.
Kansas Senate Democratic leader Anthony Hensley voiced his disapproval of the auction, accusing Republican Gov. Sam Brownback of getting the state mixed up with the porn biz.
“Brownback is so desperate to fill the massive hole in the state budget caused by his reckless income tax cuts that the state of Kansas is now in the porn business,” Hensley said in a press release.
Jeannine Koranda, spokeswoman for the Department of Revenue, stressed that the state itself is not selling the adult items.
“The property was released back to the owner, who then contracted with the auction company to sell the items, and then that money will be used to pay the taxes,” Koranda said.
Brownback’s office also issued a response explaining that the process is nothing new, only that the goods involved were unusual.
