Jill Carter explains why she supports proposal to eliminate income tax

(From Sen. Jill Carter, R-Granby)

Our local governments function primarily on property and sales taxes. Your local schools, emergency services, libraries, etc., all rely on property taxes and sales tax.

The last couple of years, with a rogue State Tax Commission threatening to penalize local governments for not increasing property taxes, with the threat of local schools being underfunded through state dollars, and with the desire to eliminate the threat of homeowners losing their homes because they couldn’t afford the increase in property taxes, there has been a swirl of conversations about how to shift the tax burden but also ensure local services are funded.

Conversations about tax increases, State Tax Commission reform, and broader tax overhaul have dominated headlines. The increase in basic costs, wages, food, etc., has also dominated conversations. Even the feedback in the simple thought of working toward not taxing basic groceries produced feedback on how that would cause a massive blow to local government dollars and threaten the ability to provide the quality of services that we have become accustomed to.

Missouri’s individual income tax code—written in 1939—has functioned. But I hope to get to a place where we cut sales tax on food, have the ability to reduce property taxes, and still help communities that power our state to be able to thrive. The lurking question is, how do we get there?

This reality weighs heavily on me as I sit with working parents, entrepreneurs, and young people across the 32nd District. They share stories of paychecks that never quite stretch far enough, impossible choices between filling the gas tank and the fridge, and dreams that feel increasingly out of reach. I want and need your input on ways to modernize our tax code and let hardworking Missourians have more confidence that they can keep more of what they have worked so hard to gain.

That is why I supported HJR 173 and 174. These constitutional amendments will appear on the ballot in either August or November for voters to decide. If approved, they will set our state on a responsible, step-by-step path to phase out and ultimately eliminate the individual income tax. The General Assembly must enact revenue-triggered rate reductions until the tax is gone. Once eliminated, the constitution will permanently prohibit any future legislature from reinstating it. This would deliver the single largest middle-class tax cut in Missouri history.

I share concerns about funding schools and local services. The amendments address those worries with clear, ironclad constitutional protections. Any expansion of the sales and use tax base must be paired dollar-for-dollar with income-tax cuts in the same bill—Missourians will never see one without the other. Twelve months after any such change, local governments must reduce their own tax rates (either property tax reductions or sales tax) to offset 97 percent of their new revenue. Most importantly, no political subdivision may adjust rates in a way that reduces funding for public schools. Schools remain fully funded.

This is not change imposed from above; it is voter-driven reform. Missourians at the polls will decide whether our state joins economic leaders like Texas, Tennessee, and Florida that do not tax personal income. The legislature is simply giving the people the chance to choose their own future.
Returning more money to Missouri families will strengthen our communities, our schools, and our economy from the inside out. That is the Missouri I believe in—the one where hard work is rewarded, families can thrive, and opportunity is passed down stronger to the next generation.

I’m looking forward to more conversations and more feedback on this issue as you weigh in.