More than two hundred Kansas City area residents lined the pews at Central Presbyterian Church to push back against Missouri legislation that would eventually eliminate the state income tax and replace it with sales taxes.
The emergency meeting was held Wednesday evening by Missouri Jobs with Justice, Missouri Workers Center and Parents for KC Kids, who said they represent low-wage workers, union members, faith leaders, teachers and public school parents.
Just days before lawmakers headed to spring break, the Missouri House approved a resolution to begin the process of eliminating the income tax as soon as 2032. The constitutional amendment still needs Senate and voter approval.
Gov. Mike Kehoe said at his State of the State address in January that the move will attract more businesses to Missouri. Other Republican lawmakers, who largely support the bill, said sales taxes are a fairer system and give residents more freedom to choose how they spend their money.
But LaNee Bridewell, a Kansas City Public Schools parent and leader with Parents for KC Kids, said expanding sales taxes would move the burden from the wealthy to the elderly and lower-income residents.
She said it could also threaten funding for critical state services, including hospitals, public schools, roads maintenance, senior services and support for people with disabilities.
“It's going to devastate our state,” Bridewell said. “They want us to pay more and get so much less that we're bankrupting the systems we count on.”
The state income tax makes up the majority of Missouri's general revenue. Other revenues, like sales taxes, would have to make up the difference if the state income tax is decreased or eliminated.
House Speaker Jon Patterson, a Republican from Lee's Summit, is one of the resolution’s sponsors. He has said the state's tax system needs to be modernized, which could include expanding sales taxes to digital products.
Kehoe said health care and agriculture would be exempt from being included in any sales tax expansion.
The Missouri Budget Project, a nonpartisan policy analysis organization, said increasing sales taxes while eliminating the income tax will cost up to 80% of Missourians more overall. Only 20% of Missouri’s highest earners would see a decrease in their taxes, according to the analysis.
Bill Thompson, a leader with Missouri Workers Center and Stand Up KC, is a caregiver for his wife. He’s worried about potential cuts to in-home care and paying more in sales taxes.
“They'll be taxing us to death,” Thompson said. “There are people that will lose their homes, literally. It’s already hard enough to put food on the table and afford medications at the same time.”
Other speakers worried about potential funding cuts to classrooms across the state. The Missouri Budget Project reported eliminating the income tax could cut $1.4 billion in general revenue funding for local schools — adding up to the salary of 27,000 teachers.
Elizabeth Warwick, an instructional coach with Kansas City Public Schools, said just one teacher being absent means other educators have to scramble to cover their classroom. That means sometimes skipping planning periods or splitting kids into different classrooms.
She’s worried less money for schools would mean larger class sizes and fewer support staff, including counselors, interventionists and school nurses.
“Every single classroom in every single school in every part of our state will be impacted by the elimination of the state income tax,” Warwick said. “Kids are going to lose out on learning, and teachers are going to become so burned out that they quit.”
The coalition will hold more meetings across the state through Saturday.
