The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

State News

Discussion

April 27, 2009

Missouri: House GOP moves quickly on tax break plan

The Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Over Democratic objections, Missouri House Republicans are quickly advancing a proposed $1 billion tax cut to be financed with federal economic stimulus dollars.

The Republican-led Tax Reform Committee endorsed legislation Monday authorizing the tax cut. It’s expected to be debated by the full chamber on Wednesday.

Democrats argued unsuccessfully to GOP colleagues that the tax break was unconstitutionally added to a Senate-passed bill that previously dealt only with a tax credit for donations to caretakers of the developmentally disabled.

But Republican leaders defended both the process and the purpose of using federal stimulus money for a tax break.

“I think Missourians are going to be excited about this,” said Rep. Joe Smith, R-St. Charles, chairman of the Tax Reform Committee.

House Republican leaders announced the proposed tax break last Thursday after many members of the caucus rebelled against a plan previously endorsed by the House Budget Committee to spend the federal stimulus money on scores of projects across the state.

At issue is Missouri’s roughly $2 billion in flexible stimulus funds known as “budget stabilization” dollars.

The House GOP plan would reduce the state income tax rate by one-half of a percentage point in 2009 and 2010. House Republicans estimate that would result in about $500 million in lost tax revenues each year, though legislative staff have not completed an official financial projection.

Rep. Jeanette Mott Oxford, citing rough Revenue Department estimates, said the tax break would result in a $45 savings for someone with a taxable income of $9,000. A person’s taxable income is calculated after deductions are made to a person’s adjusted gross income.

Someone with $20,000 in taxable income would save about $100 annually under the proposed Republican tax break; those with $50,000 in taxable income would save $250; and those with $100,000 in taxable income would save about $500, according to the Revenue Department estimates.

“The majority of the tax savings in this proposal would go to the richest fifth of Missourians basically,” said Oxford, D-St. Louis.

Speaking later to reporters, House Majority Leader Steven Tilley rejected Democratic assertions that Republicans were supporting a tax break for the rich.

“It’s a tax cut for people who work and pay taxes,” said Tilley, R-Perryville.

The Tax Reform Committee added the tax break to a Senate-passed bill creating a tax credit for donations to entities that provide care for the developmentally disabled. Democrats asserted that in changing the original title of the bill, Republicans were going beyond the constitutionally allowed legislative changes.

While the Tax Reform Committee met, Democrats also walked out in protest from the House Rules Committee.

House Speaker Ron Richard, R-Joplin, had assigned the Rules Committee a new bill spending money from the stimulus package on various projects and transferring $1 billion of “budget stabilization” money to general revenues to make up for $1 billion tax cut.

Democrats asserted unsuccessfully that House rules required the bill to be sent to the House Budget Committee instead of the Rules Committee.

After Democrats left, Republicans deleted the section transferring money to make up for the tax break. Speaker Pro Tem Bryan Pratt, R-Blue Springs, said the section wasn’t necessary for the tax break to occur.

Republicans on the Rules Committee also deleted proposed federal stimulus dollars for a University of Missouri-Columbia cancer treatment center and instead directed the dollars to maintenance at other college campuses.

The move was a retribution against Rep. Stephen Webber, of Columbia, one of the Democrats who walked out of the committee.

Text Only
State News
  • Lions climb into share of MIAA men's basketball lead

    Without taking the floor, Missouri Southern has climbed into a first-place tie in the MIAA men’s basketball race.

    February 22, 2012

  • 2.6 magnitude earthquake recorded in Oklahoma

    The U.S. Geological Survey has recorded a 2.6 magnitude earthquake near Wellston in central Oklahoma.
    No injuries or damage is reported.

    January 19, 2011

  • Audit: $108,000 taken from Missouri Veterans Commission JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A former employee of the state auditor’s office embezzled nearly $108,000 while working as an accountant for the Missouri Veterans Commission, the state auditor alleged Monday.

    Stacy Griffin-Lowery was fired by the Veterans Commission in March 2008 and pleaded guilty three months later to a misdemeanor theft charge. She repaid the state $17,665, the auditor’s office said.

    But Missouri Auditor Susan Montee on Monday accused Griffin-Lowery of swiping an additional $90,192 by getting reimbursed for cash advances and purchases made on her personal credit card.

    April 12, 2010

  • Race in Kansas’ 2nd District could heat up for GOP incumbent TOPEKA, Kan. — A conservative Kansas legislator said Monday he will announce in a few weeks whether he will challenge freshman U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins in the Republican primary.

    State Sen. Dennis Pyle’s actions in recent months suggest the Hiawatha farmer, who’s served in the Legislature since 2001, is running against Jenkins in the Aug. 2 primary. He set up a campaign organization in November and has a Web site featuring a brief video of him on his farm, asking viewers for support.

    April 12, 2010

  • Oklahoma tea party leaders, lawmakers envision militia OKLAHOMA CITY — Frustrated by recent political setbacks, tea party leaders and some conservative members of the Oklahoma Legislature say they would like to create a new volunteer militia to help defend against what they believe are improper federal infringements on state sovereignty.

    Tea party movement leaders say they’ve discussed the idea with several supportive lawmakers and hope to get legislation next year to recognize a new volunteer force

    April 12, 2010

  • Missouri: Senate panel cuts $500 million from proposed budget JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Senate committee declared Thursday that it has sliced more than $500 million from Missouri’s proposed budget for next year — meeting a target set by Gov. Jay Nixon to bring it in balance.

    April 8, 2010

  • Kansas: Wichita-area casino in doubt after governor’s decision TOPEKA, Kan. — A proposed casino south of Wichita was in doubt Thursday after Gov. Mark Parkinson refused to grant its developers a regulatory reprieve. Partners in the $225 million Chisholm Creek project wanted to delay a state board’s decision on their plans.

    April 8, 2010

  • Oklahoma: Groups oppose education spending initiative OKLAHOMA CITY — A coalition of business and labor groups said Thursday it will work to defeat a ballot initiative to dramatically increase spending on public education that coalition members said would devastate the budgets of many other state services and possibly force tax increases.

    April 8, 2010

  • Missouri: Gov. Nixon affirms support for tuition freeze COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has no plans to sit idly while lawmakers consider whether to preserve a tuition freeze deal he assembled before the state’s dire financial status was fully known.

    April 7, 2010

  • Kansas: Agency uses YouTube to illustrate road woes TOPEKA, Kan. — It’s one thing to hear about potholes and state budgets. It’s another to see how the two are connected. That’s part of the thinking behind a new video presentation on YouTube this week from the Kansas Department of Transportation.

    April 7, 2010