According to The Hutchinson News, $47 million in annual revenue stream for Kansas counties will be at the center of discussion next year in the Statehouse, as the Kansas Association of Realtors and Kansas Bankers Association say it is a tax and needs to end.

The mortgage registration charge is paid by the borrower buying real estate.

Luke Bell, vice president of governmental affairs for the Kansas Association of Realtors, said the purchaser of a $150,000 home might carry a mortgage of about $121,000. The 0.26 percent mortgage registration charge would translate into approximately $315 paid to the county where the property is located.

If the document recording fee is not sufficient to cover county staff expenses, that should be reviewed, Bell said. But the mortgage registration charge is "duplicative" and "unnecessary," he said.