Legislation that would cut Missouri’s income tax while raising the sales tax was examined today by a State House committee.
Supporters testified that the bill is crucial for keeping Missouri businesses from being lured westward into Kansas, which recently slashed its tax rates. Opponents include Lee’s Summit Schools Superintendent David McGehee. He says Missouri is in no financial condition to voluntarily give up revenues:
“Missouri’s funding for public schools is already more than 600 million dollars below what is required to fund its own foundation formula, with no real plan in sight to ever see full funding.”
In addition, a non-profit group that advocates for the poor in Missouri has launched an ad campaign saying the proposal could cost the state nearly a billion dollars. The sponsor of the bill, Republican Senator Will Kraus of Lee’s Summit, called the ads “misleading” and “distasteful,” and says the drop in revenues would only be around 477 million dollars over five years’ time. The measure has already cleared the Missouri Senate. The House will vote on the bill later.
