Graves: Elimination of death tax will save the family farm

(From Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves)

A famous quote says, “There’s nothing certain in life except death and taxes.”

It’s ironic and infuriating then that the government taxes your death. It’s known as the “Death Tax” or the “Estate Tax” or the “Inheritance Tax” and it applies to anything you might hope to pass on such as money, equipment, or land to your loved ones. No matter what you call it, a tax that kicks in when you die is absurd. It’s not the government’s money to begin with!

Farmers are hit especially hard by the death tax. After a lifetime of acquiring land and equipment to help provide food for the world, farmers are subjected to an additional tax on their estate when they die. The real effect of this double, and sometimes triple, taxation is felt by the late farmer’s family.

While many folks receive an inheritance in the form of a check or stocks and bonds, the family farmer passes on his life’s work and ensures that farming continues as a way of life in North Missouri and around the country.

It’s no wonder that our kids and grandkids aren’t choosing to farm when they grow up. It’s expensive enough to get a farming operation off the ground, much less keep it in the family after giving part of it to the government.

I believe your death shouldn’t be a taxable event. Farmers shouldn’t work all of their life, saving and paying taxes, just to have the government show up with another bill for them and their family when they die.

That’s why a crucial part of tax reform is getting rid of the death tax. We’ve been able to increase the amount exempted from the tax in the past but that’s not enough. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will provide immediate relief from the death tax by doubling the earnings exemption with a full elimination of the tax after six years.

As a sixth-generation family farmer and small businessman, I know firsthand the importance of tax reform. Meaningful tax reform must benefit rural Missourians and our plan does just that. We’ve waited more than 30 years; it’s time for a tax system that benefits everyone.

Charges against Joplin man may be upgraded when three-year-old's autopsy returns

An autopsy of three-year-old Jonathan Munoz-Bilbrey was held this morning at Frontier Forensics in Kansas City, according to a Joplin Police Department news release.

The autopsy results could bring about an upgrading of charges for Leonard Valdez, 21, Joplin, who is being held on a $150,000 cash only bond on a felony child abuse charge.

The Kansas City Police arrested Valdez Friday after the boy was taken to Children's Mercy Hospital with injuries that appeared to be a direct result of child abuse. Jonathan died two days later.

The probable cause statement indicates Valdez was the only person supervising the boy at the time the injuries occurred. The child received head injuries that resulted in a brain bleed, as well as bruising to the forehead and a laceration on his shoulder.

The boy died 22 days after the Joplin Police Department arrested Valdez for domestic assault at the same addres, 1502 S. Michigan Avenue, where police say the child abuse took place. The victim was the boy's mother, Natasha Michelle Bilbrey, 22, according to the JPD incident report.

State treasurer to meet with Trump Administration officials Thursday

(From State Treasurer Eric Schmitt)

State Treasurer Eric Schmitt will meet with senior Trump administration officials on Thursday to discuss federal tax reform proposals and their potential impact on Missouri’s economy. During a press conference in Jefferson City today, Schmitt announced he will urge the administration to move swiftly toward a tax reform package that benefits working families and small businesses.

“In September I called on congress to finally fix this problem and put working families first by passing substantive tax reform by the end of the year,” Schmitt said. “I’ll be taking that message directly to Washington, D.C. tomorrow when I meet with senior members of the Trump administration to discuss this issue.”

Schmitt’s announcement comes as the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees move closer toward the passage of the largest update to the federal tax code since 1986.

“Though the two chambers are still working out differences, it’s clear that a proposal rooted in the administration’s Unified Framework would mean substantial tax relief for Missouri families,” Schmitt said.

Analysis by the Tax Foundation estimates that both the House and Senate proposals would result in over 18,000 new jobs created in Missouri over a period of ten years. The same study puts the increase in income for the average Missouri middle class family over $2,400.

Schmitt also expressed support for proposed changes to 529 college savings plans like Missouri’s MOST program, which he administers. Those changes include expanding eligibility to K-12 education and apprenticeship programs, allowing for the creation of an account for an unborn child and permitting the transfer of funds from a 529 account to an ABLE disability savings account.

“These changes would make the program stronger than ever before, lower costs across the board and make this important savings vehicle available to more Missourians while recognizing the dignity of human life,” Schmitt said. “As both a dad and a 529 administrator, I fully support those measures.”

Schmitt argues passing tax reform by the end of the year needs to be a top priority for the Republican-led congress.

“Tax reform has been relegated to campaign platitudes and wish lists for too long,” Schmitt said. “The time for excuses has passed; it’s time for Congress to get it done.”

Thursday’s meeting will include members of the President’s Cabinet and National Economic Council.

McCaskill recalls sexual harassment as Congressional intern

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-MO, has been noting sexual harassment that she faced, both as a Congressional intern and later in the Missouri House of Representatives:

In interviews Tuesday following a hearing on the subject, McCaskill said that when she was an intern in 1974 she had multiple instances of sexual harassment.

McCaskill told NBC News, "I learned to avoid elevators because that is where you were captured."

In a rccent interview, McCaskill said when she was in the Missouri House of Representatives, she asked the Speaker of the House how she could get a bill out of committee. The speaker told her she should "bring her knee pads."

Report: Google opponent paid $300,000 to Hawley campaign

Bloomberg News is reporting that there may be a bit more to Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley's lawsuit against Google.

A major contributor to Hawley's 2016 election, Peter Thiel, who provided Hawley with $300,000, is a prominent opponent of Google:

Thiel, an early investor in Facebook Inc., has criticized Google for years. In 2012, he sparred with then-Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt on stage at a conference, calling the company’s search engine a monopoly. “It’s quite legal to have a monopoly as long as you don’t abuse it," he added. In his recent book, "Zero to One," Thiel argued Google was a monopoly and said every company should want to be one.

Hawley's action against Google is detailed in this post.

Roy Blunt: Republican tax plan is good for Missouri

In this video, Sen. Roy Blunt explains why he believes the Republican tax plan will benefit Missourians.

Vote to remove Missouri Commissioner of Education and install charter school supporter set for next week

A vote to remove State Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven is expected to take place during a session of the State Board of Education.

Gov. Eric Greitens has appointed five of the eight board members and is pushing to replace Vandeven with a charter school proponent.

As noted in earlier Turner Report posts, Greitens received more than $700,000 from charter school supporters, including $100,000 from members of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos' family during his 2016 election campaign.

The video is from KMBC in Kansas City.

McCaskill, Luetkemeyer team on bill to reduce regulatory burden on regional banks

(From Sen. Claire McCaskill)

It doesn't matter whether an idea comes from a Democrat or a Republican—a good idea is a good idea, which is why I'm teaming up with Republican Congressman and fellow-Missourian Blaine Luetkemeyer to get his bill to lower regulatory burdens on smaller regional banks one step closer to becoming law.

After the 2008 financial crisis, massive reforms were set up to protect consumers and our economy and make sure that a crisis like that never happened again. 

Those reforms were important and necessary, but even the architects of that plan acknowledged that smaller, regional banks—the ones that have been in our communities and on our main streets for decades—have been unnecessarily hit hard by the new requirements.

The bill that Congressman Luetkemeyer has introduced in the U.S. House—and which I recently introduced in the Senate with Republican Senator David Perdue from Georgia—would ease these burdens by allowing the Federal Reserve to exempt regional banks from regulations that limit their lending ability.

This is a commonsense fix to help our small regional banks, and I'm glad to help Congressman Luetkemeyer get this bill across the finish line.

CLICK HERE to learn more about our bipartisan bill to help regional banks.

Claim in $75 million lawsuit: Diamond police officers forced Neosho man to undergo public strip search

Diamond police officers forced a man to drop his pants and expose his genitalia during a strip search following a November 20, 2012 traffic stop according to a $75 million lawsuit filed today in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

Sean Gray, Neosho, claims that R. J. Smith, who was a probationary Diamond Police Department officer at the time stopped him for speeding, then searched his vehicle and conducted the strip search at 1:20 p.m. at Ellison Street and N. Washington.

After the search turned up no evidence of drugs, Gray says, Police Chief Michael Jones told him he was "a f---ing disappointment," adding that he must have tossed the drugs out the window.

From the petition:

On or around November 20, 2012 and approximately four months after defendant Smith was approved for hire as a part-time, probationary, reserve police officer for defendant Diamond, plaintiff was pulled over by defendant Smith for allegedly exceeding the speed limit at the intersection of public streets and public places Ellison Street and N. Washington Street in Diamond, Missouri at or around 1:20 pm. He had no outstanding warrants for his arrest at the time of the stop. 

During the traffic stop, defendant Smith began search the plaintiff’s vehicle, without a warrant, without arresting the plaintiff and without the plaintiff’s permission, express or implied, and/or without any justification. 

Defendant Smith searched plaintiff’s vehicle without any sense of urgency or fear and nothing about his conduct indicates the situation presented any imminent threat to his safety. Defendant Smith damaged property in the plaintiff’s vehicle during the search and lost his sunglasses in the process. 

Defendant Smith failed to locate any weapons, drugs or illicit contraband. At or about this time, defendant Smith also ordered plaintiff out of his vehicle without any justifiable cause and onto the public streets in plain view of other persons and/or motorists. 

Defendant Smith thoroughly searched plaintiff’s person, including pulling up plaintiff’s foot and ankle to inspect his sock and/or shoe area while defendant Jones looked on and laughed. Defendant Smith failed to locate any weapons, drugs or illicit contraband on plaintiff’s person. 

After thoroughly searching plaintiff’s person, the defendants instructed plaintiff to lower his pants and underwear to them and show them his genitals while the group was at or about the aforementioned public streets and public places without a warrant or arrest. 

The defendants took no steps to protect the plaintiff’s privacy, such as conducting a “reach in” search, surrounding the plaintiff to obstruct others’ view or taking the plaintiff to a more private location such as the nearby police station. 

Plaintiff instead stood in the aforementioned public streets and public places and was forced to expose his genitalia to the defendants. Defendants failed to locate any weapons, drugs or illicit contraband on plaintiff’s person after this unconstitutional strip search and body cavity search.

After conducting the searches and strip search, defendant Jones told plaintiff he was “a f---ing disappointment”, before insisting the plaintiff must have thrown drugs out the window of the plaintiff’s vehicle. Before permitting the plaintiff to leave, defendant Smith told plaintiff that “I guess you just f---ing stink!”

Smith, Jones and the City of Diamond are listed as defendants in the lawsuit.

The two-count lawsuit claims Gray's Fourth and 14th Amendment rights were violated.

Diamond Municipal Court records indicate Gray pleaded guilty on a defective equipment charge and was fined $152.

Gray is represented by Todd M. Johnson, of Votava, Nantz and Johnson, LLC of Kansas City.

State auditor's report examines concerns identified in license offices

(From State Auditor Nicole Galloway)

Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway today released a report of concerns identified in license offices throughout the state. The report compiled issues identified in audits of contract license offices since May 2015.

"Missourians simply want efficient and effective service when visiting their local fee office to renew license plates, process vehicle titles or receive their driver's license," Auditor Galloway said. "Taking a general look at these common issues provides information to fee offices across the state about best management practices and ways to ensure taxpayer dollars are protected."

The Missouri Department of Revenue is responsible for selecting agents to operate the 177 contract license offices in the state. These offices process transactions related to driver licenses, vehicle titles and license plates.

The report covers audits of 23 license offices completed over a two year period in locations throughout the state. Common concerns include:

Sales tax calculations - errors when calculating appropriate sales tax amounts paid on vehicles registered through the license offices.
Lack of oversight - failure to have a supervisory or independent review of financial transactions.
Voiding transactions - not following all necessary steps when voiding a transaction after it is entered in the system but before payment is made.

· Accounting procedures - not recording the method of payment and not issuing receipts for driving record sales.
Inventory - failure to update inventory records of license plates, tabs, decals and permits.
Charitable donations - not ensuring staff inquire of each customer whether they are interested in making a donation. State law requires license offices to collect donations for the World War I Memorial Trust fund, and for the organ donor and blindness awareness programs.
No fee IDs - failure to maintain an accurate or complete log of identification cards issued for no fee.

Auditor Galloway will continue efforts to root out waste and mismanagement of taxpayer dollars. Individuals with concerns about their local fee office or other areas of government may contact the State Auditor's Whistleblower Hotline at moaudit@auditor.mo.gov or by calling 800-347-8597. Concerns may also be submitted anonymously online at auditor.mo.gov/hotline.

The complete report is available here.