With the new Missouri legislative session about to begin, the time for lawmakers just talking about tax reform is going the way of 8-track tapes and pet rocks. The time for action is at hand.
I previously blogged about my friend Chris Seyer and the new obstacles his business faces to compete with other firms in Kansas. Those other firms now can add a little extra to their margins because they do not have to pay taxes on their pass-through income. His is not an isolated case and that is why there is a growing chorus in Jefferson City to see some sort of tax cut implemented.
There are several tax cuts being discussed. One of them would create a tax deduction for business income and would gradually reduce the corporate income tax rate over a five-year period. Another caps and eliminates certain tax credits and uses the extra revenue to gradually eliminate the corporate income tax.
The idea of cutting the corporate income tax rate is something that appeals to me, so much so that I co-wrote an essay illustrating the benefits to the state of completely eliminating the tax. Whether the tax cuts are phased in or occur immediately, I am glad that the Missouri Legislature is seriously considering tax cuts. Hopefully, the tax cuts would take effect sooner rather than later, but if takes until 2018 to get rid of the corporate income tax, then some things are just worth waiting for.
However, legislatures consider a lot of things; actually enacting them is entirely different. Regarding tax reform, as the King would say, we need a little less conversation and little more action.
