A former House candidate is among the members of a committee seeking to eliminate personal property taxes through an initiative petition.
If enough signatures are collected, the question to amend the Missouri Constitution would be put on the Nov. 3, 2020, ballot.
Rik Combs - who ran as one of five Republican candidates for the 59th District seat Rep. Rudy Veit ultimately won - is a member of the Stop Taxing Our Personal Property Committee, or STOPP Committee, according to a news release Friday.
The STOPP Committee's news release also listed Gary Nolan, of Zimmer Radio, and David Roland, of the Freedom Center of Missouri, as members.
The statement of the committee's organization filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission last October identifies Nolan, of Columbia, as the group's president; Combs of Lohman, a retired Air Force officer, as the treasurer; and Roland, of Mexico, as the deputy treasurer.
According to the press release, a committee has been formed and has cleared the initial administrative hurdles to place the question on the November 2020 ballot. The committee is registered with the Missouri Ethics Commission.
The actual ballot language, which has been approved for circulation by the Missouri Secretary of State's Office, states:
"Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to prohibit the state, counties, and all other political subdivisions from imposing or collecting any tax on personal property other than sales tax, which may be collected each time the property is purchased?
"State and local governmental entities estimate reduced tax revenues ranging from $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion annually."
The Secretary of State's Office certified the ballot title - "Constitutional Amendment to Article X, Relating to Personal Property Taxes" - on March 4.
To get the question on the ballot, the group must collect signatures from at least 8 percent of the registered voters in at least six of Missouri's eight congressional districts.
According to the latest quarterly financial report filed April 2 with the Ethics Commission, the STOPP Committee has received $1,460 since it was organized last fall. Of the total, $1,250 was received since Jan. 1: $1,000 from Gary and Millie Schell, of Jefferson City; and $250 from Harry Cornell, Jr., of Carthage. Combs also contributed $110, and he and his wife, Jill, contributed another $100 in November.