Your Opinion: Proposed tax cut is tax redistribution

Dear Editor:

House Bill 253 is being sold to Missouri as a tax cut. It is actually a tax redistribution bill. It is a complicated law that cannot be reversed by Missouri law once it goes into effect.

The part being sold to us publicly is a state income tax reduction of about 20 percent. That reduction is countered by a 15 percent sales tax increase, basically a wash.

I would like to point out a few issues written into this bill.

• Prescription drugs: It includes a tax on prescription drugs. According to the Census, five out of six persons 65 and older are taking at least one medication and almost half the elderly take three or more. Medicare or insurance will continue to pay for the drugs but the taxes will have to be paid by the person receiving the medication. This could be hundreds of dollars per year. Estimates of people taking prescription drugs in the general population are between 50 percent and 70 percent of the population. Our representatives say this was an oversight that they will fix in the next session. I don't trust them to do that.

• Property taxes: By changing where the taxes come from, funds can be redistributed to different entities. Funding will be reduced to schools, public services and infrastructure. As state funding is withdrawn, the money needed to fund them will have to come from somewhere else. The most likely place will be our property taxes. The slick glossy postcards we have been receiving in the mail are funded by a very few very wealthy people. Rex Sinquefield has personally donated $2.4 million to get the veto overridden (and $26, 808, 280 in political contributions from 2008-2012.) This is a big red light. I don't believe he is just a wealthy philanthropist who wants the best for Missouri. He (our legislators who receive his donation) and his cronies will profit on the backs of middle class Missouri.

It is important to remember that if the state of Missouri has a problem funding schools, public works and infrastructure they will likely seek assistance from the federal government. This will cause a loss of independence and sovereignty to Missouri.