Missouri's 61 different tax credits paid out a total of $629.4 million in the 2011-12 business year that ended June 30 - a record, and nearly 8 percent of the state's general revenue portion of the budget.
And that has a lot of people in government debating what needs to be done, to make sure tax credits provide only benefits by generating more income than the state pays out.
As lawmakers, Gov. Jay Nixon and his renewed Bipartisan Tax Credit Review Commission all study the issue, state Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, plans to move forward next year with an in-depth look at the 7-year-old Quality Jobs Act - one of those 61 tax credit programs.
Barnes, a legislative freshman, is running for re-election against Thomas Minihan, a former Cole County Democratic Committee chairman. Barnes also is the ....