Tax Cut Plan Approved By House

Chris Dinkins

Greetings Friends of the 144th!

‘Tis the season of festivals and fairs. This past weekend I enjoyed visiting with people at the Reynolds County Fair. Everyone seemed to have a great time and the weather was perfect. This weekend I plan to attend Old Miners Day in Viburnum. Doe Run will be giving mine tours and if you have never done this before this is a great opportunity to see the underground facility. It is amazing everything that is down there and how big it is.

House Approves Plan to Cut Income Tax for Missourians 

Missourians would keep more of their hard-earned dollars under a tax cut plan approved by the Missouri House this week. House members returned to Jefferson City for a special legislative session and passed legislation that would eventually reduce the state’s top income tax rate to 4.5%.

SBs 3 & 5 left the Senate as a reduction to the state’s top rate of income tax with triggers for additional reductions. During committee work in the House, members added other provisions to the bill including one to phase out the corporate income tax. However, as the bill came to the floor the body opted to return the bill to its original form as it was approved in the Senate.

The plan that has now been approved by both the House and the Senate would reduce Missouri’s top individual income tax rate from 5.3% to 4.95% in 2023. Healthy revenue growth could then trigger additional cuts to incrementally bring the rate down to 4.5%. General revenue growth of $175 million would trigger a reduction of 0.15% to bring the top rate down to 4.8%. Additional 0.1% reductions would be enacted with annual general revenue growth of at least $200 million. If fully enacted, the additional reductions would bring the rate down to 4.5%.

The bill approved by both chambers would also exempt the first $1,000 of Missourians’ income from taxation. Under current law, only the first $100 of a taxpayer’s income is exempt from taxation.

This is a bill that delivers an immediate tax cut for working Missourians and then also sets the rate to be further reduced over a course of time. Although, I would have liked to have seen a larger tax cut I believe this is a good first step. I hope in the upcoming session that the legislature will look at other avenues to put more of the people’s hard earned money back in their own pockets. I think the people that have advocated for this bill understand that low taxation leads to economic prosperity. The people that it really affects are those working families that have oftentimes been left out. 

The state doesn’t have a right to the paycheck of Missouri citizens. The state has a responsibility to assess tax at a rate that is reflective of what the state’s cost is for essential services.The fact that we can take more is wrong to operate with that assumption. We shouldn’t take a dime more from people than what we need to operate our essential services.

The House approved SBs 3 & 5 by a vote of 98-32. After passage of the bill, Gov. Mike Parson issued a statement praising the General Assembly for answering his call to “cut Missourians’ taxes and return some of their hard-earned dollars.”

This bill will provide real relief to taxpaying Missourians. Relief that is even more critical now as Missouri families face rising grocery bills, high gas prices, and record inflation. This bill means our administration will have cut Missourians’ income tax rate by almost a full percentage point or a nearly 15 percent decrease.

Parson also expanded his call for the special session to include the changes to his plan made in the tax cut bill and legislation to extend critical support to the state’s agriculture industry.

 As always, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, concerns, or suggestions you might have. As your Representative, I am here to assist you however I can. I can be reached by email at Chris.Dinkins@house.mo.gov or by phone at 573-751-2112. Please do not contact me via social media. These messages are easy to overlook and may not be responded to in a timely manner.

Chris Dinkins is the area’s state representative for the 144th Legislative District. She can be reached by email Chris.Dinkins@house.mo.gov or by telephone:   573-751-2112.