Did Kansas City Cancel E-Tax Refunds?!?

This question has been circulating via social media and it finally made it's way to our corner of the Internets. 

The basics and the upshot . . .

TKC TOLD YOU SO . . . KANSAS CITY TOUGHENS UP THE E-TAX REFUND POLICY!!!

We noted gossip about this power move during the worst of the pandemic.

Now this note reports the aftermath . . .

We offer this question up to our blog community and hope the answers might be able to provide further insight . . .

Kansas City E-Tax Question

If you work within Kansas City, MO, but live outside of it, you got a post card from KCMO a few days ago. It states that ordinance 220164 was passed on 3/3/22 and became effective on 3/14/22. The change deals with getting a refund on your earnings tax if you worked from home, meaning outside of KCMO, some or all of the year. The last two years we had to file forms RD-109 and RD-109NR with our taxes to get the refund.  It was no problem, or should I say, just two more tax forms to file to get your earnings tax refund.

The postcard said that now a "valid protest" was required to get any earnings tax refund issued. Looking at the ordinance, it says that a protest must be made and sustained.

The actual ordinance says

No refund of tax, penalty, or interest paid shall be issued in the absence of a protest made and sustained pursuant to the requirements of section 139.031, RSMo.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find out anything about the details of what "a protest made and sustained" even means. Kansas City Week In Review hasn't mentioned it. I've searched your blog, the local TV stations and done a Google search, all to no avail, except one reddit item. I will admit that I didn't call the city because I've tried too many times over the years to talk to the city to get clarification on something to only get in contact with someone that knows even less than I do about whatever my question was about.

This will affect thousands of people that live outside of KCMO, but worked in KCMO pre-COVID, but now work some or all from home. People need to know what is going on with the 1% tax that is being taken out of their paycheck, but they are due a refund. From an outsiders point of view, it looks like the city makes it real easy to get our money, but when they aren't due it, they are now making it even harder to get it refunded back from them.

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