Heartland owner says he’s staying; wants help with taxes

The owner of the Heartland Motorsports Park says he’s no longer considering leaving Topeka and instead plans to fight to lower the taxes he’s paying.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Chris Payne threatened earlier this year to relocate, saying the current tax situation made it nearly impossible to run a profitable business. Payne says the park considered offers but decided “we’re not going to get pushed out of Topeka.”

Since buying the track in 2016, Payne says he’s paid almost $300,000 in taxes. But he acknowledged that his taxes aren’t up to date for 2017 and now 2018 as he fights the appraisal.

Previous Heartland owners didn’t pay property taxes because the track was tax exempt. Payne says he doesn’t expect exempt status, but he does want a fair rate.

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