JEFFERSON CITY, Mo – The Missouri Senate has begun debating Senate Bill 509, a proposal that would gut state services by approximately $1.7 billion each year when fully phased in – an impact even worse than last year’s HB 253.
“In order to compete and grow our economy, Missouri must invest in education, transportation, and public safety,” said Amy Blouin, Executive Director of the Missouri Budget Project, a nonprofit public policy organization that analyzes state budget, tax, and economic issues. “But SB 509 would severely undermine these investments in a misguided effort to ‘keep up’ with other states. Though supporters of huge tax cuts would have Missouri jump off a fiscal cliff just because our neighbors did, we should first look at what lies at the bottom, and it’s not pretty.”
Since Kansas’ tax cuts took effect, employment in Missouri has grown significantly faster than in Kansas. Kansas has not only increased its state sales tax, but at least 65 counties have been forced to raise property taxes to avoid cutting needed services. What’s more, tuition at public universities has skyrocketed, and local schools are facing a funding crisis. And Kansas expects to have even less resources for education next year.
“While SB 509 would give millionaires and lobbyists a cushy tax cut, the blow to state revenue and the economy would cost middle class Missourians more,” said Blouin. “Missourians deserve better.”
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