Budget committee sends $500 tax credit proposal to Missouri House
(The Center Square) – The House Budget Committee voted 19-8 on Tuesday to advance a bill giving Missourians a $500 state tax credit, $1,000 for married couples filing jointly.
Rep. Cody Smith, R-Carthage, said at the end of the hearing he would ask for House Bill 3021 to be perfected on the floor on Wednesday and to be voted on Thursday to send to the Senate.
Democrats on the committee attempted to amend the bill to make the tax credit refundable or allow those with low state tax liability to claim a refund past the current tax year.
Research by the Missouri Budget Project, a non-profit public policy organization, found one-third of Missouri taxpayers, including families earning low wages and seniors who rely on Social Security income, wouldn’t qualify for the tax credit. The organization stated these groups pay significant portions of their income in sales, property and other state and local taxes.
“While we oppose the legislation in its current form because it leaves out so many taxpayers, we’re hopeful that if it or other tax rebate proposals move forward in the remaining weeks, policymakers will prioritize – or at least include – the Missourians most struggling to afford gas and put food on the table,” said Traci Gleason, spokesperson for the Missouri Budget Project.
Rep. Hannah Kelly, R-Mountain Grove, ruffled Democrats attempting to amend the bill by telling the committee a mother working double shifts at Walmart in her district asked her to speed up awarding the tax credit.
“It puts the rebate back in the hands of the people who have paid taxes,” Kelly said. “I’m going to be voting against this amendment so we can make sure we take care of people who are working hard.”
Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, had an amendment similar to Senate Bill 1138, which provides a refundable credit, voted down.
“The suggestion that these are not the people who are working hard … as was said, it’s hard not to get upset about,” Merideth said. “If you don’t think folks that fall in that category are not working their butts off every day just to get food on the table and get by… I don’t know where you live. But I think it’s important to understand that the bill as it stands, with the non-refundable tax credit, almost a third of the people in Missouri don’t get anything.”
Rep. Kevin Windham, D-Hillsdale, had his amendment to make the tax credit refundable defeated. Another committee member, Rep. Ingrid Burnett, D-Kansas City, said she declined to introduce her amendment to make it refundable once she heard the comments.
“In response to the assertion that we do not want to help poor folks, I reject that,” Smith said. “I’ll just reject that notion out of hand. I would point to the $46.5 billion budget we just passed that vastly increases an array of social services to an unprecedented level for folks specifically who are low income. And I’ve said before, I’ll say it again, we’re subsidizing their food, education, rent, utilities, healthcare, transportation and on through up to higher education.”
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