Tired of paying taxes on your vehicles on top of your already hefty real estate taxes?
So are some other Missourians, and they're teaming up to do something about it.
A grassroots group called Stop Taxing Our Personal Property Committee, or STOPP, is collecting signatures for an initiative petition that would put the issue on the November ballot. It would ask Missourians whether to amend the state Constitution to eliminate personal property taxes.
We like the idea - who doesn't want lower taxes? - but we also have serious reservations.
Sen. Bill Eigel, R-St. Charles, argues Missouri is among 21 U.S. states that have a personal property tax on vehicles - including cars, motorcycles, boats, trailers and farming equipment - and its rate is third-highest of those states.
As we reported Wednesday, he also said it's a tax that primarily affects middle- and working-class families.
He said there's never been a better time to cut taxes, given current revenue levels, and the economic growth spurred by people having more money available to spend after the elimination of personal property taxes would help municipalities recoup the revenue they had been getting through the taxes.
STOPP won't even have to submit an initiative petition, if Eigel has his way. He has filed a Senate joint resolution that would send the issue directly to voters.
The measure wouldn't impact real property taxes, which is the bulk of property taxes. Those are the taxes on homes, businesses and other real estate. Still, the proposal would eliminate about $16 million from Cole County's coffers.
That's a good chunk of change.
Here in Cole County, our public schools and our library would take the brunt of the hit. It's disingenuous to suggest they could provide the same level of services with that loss of funding. However, we haven't seen supporters of the measure propose solutions to the problem this would create.
We're all for low taxes, and we believe this proposal has merit. But discussions of eliminating personal property taxes should go hand-in-hand with discussions on the effects of doing this, and whether the funding would be replaced through other means.
News Tribune