Posted on 09/26/2014 4:24:50 AM PDT by DoodleDawg
Kansas state government is on the verge of a financial windfall with the auctioning of thousands of sex toys seized by the revenue department for nonpayment of income, withholding and sales taxes, an official said Wednesday.
Online shoppers for adult DVDs, novelty items, clothing and other products can participate in a bonanza shopping experience resulting from the four-county raid on a Kansas company known as United Outlets LLC.
Owner Larry Minkoff, who was doing business under the Bang label, apparently resisted requests from the Kansas Department of Revenue for payment of $163,986 in state taxes. It is unclear how much he still owes the state, because those precise records aren’t open to the public.
Agents took action in July to seize business inventory at outlets in Topeka, Wichita, Junction City and Kansas City, Kan., under Minkoff’s control. Two of the five business locations were in Topeka.
In a negotiated arrangement between the state and owner, the merchandise was released back to Minkoff.
He subsequently entered into a contract to sell the holdings at public auction and apply the money toward payment of taxes owed the state of Kansas.
The contract is with equip-bid.com auction company.
Consumers interested in the auction of “1000s of items” can examine the goods online or personally preview products Monday at a warehouse in Kansas City, Mo. The auction closes Tuesday.
The online site lists about 400 lots — individual lots can contain dozens of items — that include the Pipedream Fantasy Love Swing, books, hundreds of DVDs, sex and drinking games, a wide assortment of sexually oriented equipment, carrying cases for devices, the Glass Pleasure Wand, bundles of lingerie and the Cyberskin Foot Stroker.
One of the lots contained 50 “premium” vibrators and a teddy bear. The bidding was at $10.
Also available: two sets of sparkling sequin lounge pants, sizes large and small, as well as the Good Girl, Bad Girl Wrist Cuffs.
“What is different is the titillation factor of what we're selling,” said Jeannine Koranda, spokeswoman for the Kansas revenue department. “This is an unusual lot of items.”
Typically, she said, the mundane relics of a business are gathered along with confiscation of bank accounts and on-site cash when agents execute tax warrants despite lengthy action to recover the debt.
On Wednesday, attempts to contact Minkoff were unsuccessful.
The state revenue department executes warrants on debt when other collection attempts, including multiple letters, telephone calls, letters of impending legal action, tax liens filed with the district court, bank levies and on-site till taps were unsuccessful in satisfying the debt.
Only after exhaustion of other remedies does the state agency take action to close a business, Koranda said.
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, said there was irony in disclosure of the sex toy sale, while political allies of Republican Gov. Sam Brownback denounced Democratic gubernatorial nominee Paul Davis for a recent report that Davis had been in a Kansas strip club 16 years ago at the same time law enforcement officers raided the nightspot.
“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,” the Topeka legislator said. “This is the same governor whose supporters spent this past week attacking his opponent for a strip club incident.”
Eileen Hawley, spokeswoman for the governor, said the state was taking steps necessary to sell business inventory and apply proceeds to taxes owed.
“While we do not agree with the type of business involved here, it was nonetheless a legal business that was closed due to failure to pay taxes,” Hawley said. “The state cannot legally destroy the property. Returning the property to the owner would have rewarded the business that violated state tax law. This is the same process used by previous administrations.”
Democraps really do believe that everything belongs to the Gubmint and that our only purpose in life is to make sure that the Gubmint lives comfortably. The sex toy confiscation seems appropriate.
Kansas isn’t in Kansas anymore, Toto.
As does trying to get some money out of them to apply against the tax lein. But I can see the Taylor ads now.
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