Rules Committee okays Emery fair tax bill

A bill submitted by Rep. Ed Emery, R-Lamar, which would eliminate Missouri's income tax in favor of the so-called Fair Tax, was given a do-pass designation by an 8-1 vote of the House Rules Committee Monday.

HB 2112 would have to be approved by voters to take effect.

The following bill summary is offered on the Missouri House of Representatives website:

This substitute establishes the Fair Tax Act of 2008 which requires the Department of Revenue to develop by January 1, 2009, methods for replacing the state individual and corporate income tax, corporation franchise tax, bank franchise tax, and estate
tax with a fair tax based on all new retail sales and services. Upon voter approval, the income tax will be replaced beginning January 1, 2010, with the department-proposed fair tax. Sales tax exemptions and tax credits will be eliminated. Each sales tax collector and the department will be allowed to retain
one-fourth of 1% of the amount collected. Each family will receive a monthly sales tax rebate based on the number of members in the family and the federal poverty level guidelines to offset the sales tax on basic necessities.