UPDATED: Missouri House leadership proposing one-time tax credit

House Budget Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, presents the appropriations bill for final passage during today’s legislative session.
House Budget Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, presents the appropriations bill for final passage during today’s legislative session.


State lawmakers are pushing legislation that would give Missourians a one-time tax credit.

Rep. Cody Smith, R-Carthage, filed House Bill 3021 on Monday to create a one-time economic recovery tax credit for Missouri residents who paid personal income tax in the state for 2021, according to a state House of Representatives news release.

Mid-day Tuesday, House Democrats said they were astounded by the legislation, given that House Republicans had voted down a Democratic proposal to use some of the state’s unprecedented general revenue surplus to give cash payments to Missourians six days ago.

HB 3021, which was filed by Republican leadership, would appropriate $1 billion from the state’s general revenue fund to fund the one-time economic recovery non-refundable tax credit. Missourians filing an individual income tax return would receive up to a $500 credit. Married couples filing jointly would receive up to a $1,000 credit, the news release said. The credit is limited to individuals who were a Missouri resident for the entire tax year.

“As families struggle to make ends meet with the rising cost of inflation, it’s important that we do everything we can to help them keep more of their hard-earned dollars. The state is fortunate to have a record surplus that we can use a portion of to provide direct economic relief to working Missourians,” Smith said in the news release.

The bill is strongly supported by members of House leadership to help working Missourians afford the ever-increasing cost of living, they said.

House Speaker Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, Majority Floor Leader Dean Plocher, R-St. Louis and Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann, R-O’Fallon, announced their support for the plan as it was filed, the news release said.

“As a caucus, we have made it clear that we do not support the idea of spending every available dollar to increase the size of government, but instead believe individual Missourians are the best decision makers for how to spend their tax dollars,” Vescovo, Plocher and Wiemann said in a joint statement.

Vescovo also noted that he and Smith have worked together over the past few months to find the best solution for providing substantive relief to working Missourians, according to the news release. He added that HB 3021 will be a legislative priority for the House in the final weeks of session.

Late this morning, House Democrats shared a news release stating that the bill filing is occurring just six days after House Republicans voted down a Democratic proposal to use some of the state’s unprecedented general revenue surplus to give cash payments to Missourians.

House GOP leaders have reversed their position and now support the concept, the news release said.

“It’s astounding to how quickly House Republicans flip-flopped on this idea,” House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, said in the news release. “However, unlike the Democratic version that was targeted toward Missourians who would most benefit, the GOP plan primarily benefits the wealthy. While we are pleased Republicans are following the lead of House Democrats on this issue, their proposal needs improvement.”

During debate over the FY 2023 state operating budget on April 5, Rep. Kevin Windham, D-St. Louis, offered an amendment to House Bill 3020 that sought to provide cash assistance to low- or moderate-income Missourians of up to $1,000 per household, the news release said. The Republican-controlled House defeated the amendment on a largely party-line vote of 41-85.

Yesterday, Smith filed House Bill 3021, which would provide a non-refundable state income tax credit of $500 for an individual or $1,000 for a married couple filing jointly, the news release said. There is no means testing in the bill to ensure the credits have the maximum economic benefit.

“HB3021 appears to be a similar proposal to an amendment that I offered a short time ago, but has the inverse impact,” Windham said in the news release. “Missourians know the difference between a stimulus check and a tax break so House Republicans should be ashamed of this proposal.”



Story was updated to include Democrats' reaction to the proposal.