Yesterday, the Missouri Legislature failed to override Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto of House Bill 253. It is unfortunate that a legislature with one-party super majorities in both houses could not muster the resolve to pass a tax cut bill that, despite the governor’s scare tactics, was relatively minor.
However, the fact that HB 253 did not become law does not mean tax reform is dead. The legislature can always pass another tax cut and hopefully the one they do enact is much more significant than HB 253. The Show-Me Institute has released a paper detailing how the state could eliminate the income tax and another on how to eliminate the corporate income tax without losing any revenue.
The simple fact is that whether Missouri enacts tax cuts or not, it is still competing with other states economically. Kansas knows this. That is why they cut income taxes last year, and despite the doom and gloom predictions from opponents, the state is starting to see positive results. In the Kansas City metro area, all the net new job growth has been on the Kansas side since the tax cut passed. That is why Kansas continues to cut taxes now. The sooner Missouri officials understand that the state needs to remain economically competitive, the better off it will be.
