Sinquefield gives $1.3 million to group working to override Nixon veto of tax bill

Retired billionaire Rex Sinquefield contributed $1.3 million today to a group called Grow Missouri, which filed papers with the Missouri Ethics Commission only three days ago and is pushing for an override of Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of HB 253, which would have drastically reduced taxes, but at a massive cost to education and all state services.

On its website, Grow Missouri offers the following reasoning:

The bill modestly reduces the individual income tax rate from 6% to 5.5% over a 10-year period – a gradual, responsible phase-out by any standard.  The bill is designed to stimulate growth not only by allowing hardworking Missourians to keep more of what they earn but also by reducing the tax burdens on businesses, phasing in a 50% income tax deduction for small businesses over  a five-year period and reducing the corporate income tax rate by 3% over the next decade.

By increasing the deduction for individuals with incomes less than $20,000 a year, the bill provides relief to many of the state’s most vulnerable – hardworking Missourians who struggle beneath the poverty line – and gives them the boost they need to help make it into the middle class.

Additionally, by allowing those with overdue taxes to come back into compliance without penalty, so long as they stay in compliance for the next eight years, House Bill 253 helps those who have fallen on hard times catch back up and get back on track.

The bill was carefully crafted and includes a system of checks-and-balances to ensure growth and to guard against budget shortfalls. Accordingly, it provides safeguards that ensure annual tax rate reductions will only be triggered if yearly state revenues grow by at least $100 million.

Despite widespread support, and for reasons that defy sound economic wisdom, Governor Jay Nixon took pen to paper and vetoed House Bill 253 in an effort to single-handedly kill Missouri’s chance at remaining competitive with neighboring states, many of which are making bold moves to grow their own economies with similar, far more aggressive plans.

What Grow Missouri does not mention is that the neighboring states are running into the same kinds of problems Gov. Nixon warned about when he vetoed the bill.

In his veto letter, Nixon noted that Missouri already has low taxes and that the cost of the bill was dramatically understated.