An interim Missouri House of Representatives committee on the oversight of local taxation will probably issue its findings or recommendations before the start of the next legislative session, the committee's chairman said.
The House Interim Committee on Oversight of Local Taxation held its third hearing Monday at the state Capitol in Jefferson City.
Speaker of the House Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, announced the creation of the committee in July. The committee has previously held hearings in Kansas City and St. Louis "to take testimony from citizens, businesses and government officials on the impact of property taxes, sales taxes, use taxes, earnings taxes and any other taxes under the heading of local taxation," with the goals of learning how current taxation methods affect Missourians and looking into possible improvements, according to a news release.
Monday's hearing was focused on local project taxing districts, such as tax increment financing and community improvement districts.
Most of the hearing was about the committee members getting information from the Department of Revenue on the prevalence and accountability of such taxing districts in the state.
"We're concerned about oversight of these districts," including making sure they don't operate without an end, said committee chairman Rep. J. Eggleston, R-Maysville.
Discussion among the committee members indicated there's some interest in looking into freezing residential property assessment values, particularly for elderly residents, but there was also awareness of the potential consequences of such a proposal, especially for school districts.
Much discussion among members was about property value assessments in Jackson County.
"Taxes are inevitable, but hopefully the tax code can be fair and understandable," Eggleston said after the hearing.
He said the committee will likely dissolve when its work is done, but that's up to Haahr. However, he added, individual members of the committee may file legislation.
Eggleston said no future hearings are scheduled.