Gov. Mike Parson will give details Monday on the timing of an upcoming special legislative session, which will feature a large income tax cut proposal.
Lawmakers will return to the state Capitol at Parson’s request to address two tax issues the governor vetoed this past session.
Parson vetoed a bill that would have given some taxpayers a one-time, nonrefundable credit on income tax. At the time, Parson said he thought the plan was too quickly put together and didn’t benefit all Missourians.
Instead, he’s proposing a permanent income tax cut from 5.4% to about 4.8% for most taxpayers. Parson said anyone earning a paycheck in the state would see a benefit.
“We have created hundreds of millions of dollars in state revenue. And we can afford to give the people of Missouri the largest tax cut in our state's history, which means money in everyday people's pockets,” Parson said.
Parson has met with both Republican and Democratic lawmakers over his proposal. Even with the past dysfunction within the Missouri Senate, Parson says he hasn’t heard of a major pushback from the senators he has talked to about a cut.
“We will all see what happens when we get to special session. But right now, these should be things we can agree on,” Parson said.
In addition to the income tax cut, Parson wants the legislature to pass an agriculture tax credit.
While the original bill lawmakers worked on had an expiration date of six years, the version that made it to Parson’s desk only had a sunset of two years.
Speaking at the Missouri State Fair on Thursday, Parson said that it was tough for him to veto a bill dealing with agriculture, but that the bill didn’t do enough to help farmers in the state.
“If we're gonna give other businesses across the state tax advantages over our agriculture community, then we need to rethink what we're doing, and we need to fix it,” Parson said.
The governor said a sunset date of two years is not enough time to help anyone.
“You can't even implement some of the programs within that period of time, it takes 18 months to go through the process at a minimum, and that's if everything goes right,” Parson said.
Candidates gather at Governor’s Ham Breakfast
The annual Governor’s Ham Breakfast at the fair also attracted lawmakers and candidates from across the state.
In addition to outgoing lawmakers U.S. Reps. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville; Billy Long, R-Springfield; and Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, candidates to replace them also attended.
That included both the Republican and Democratic nominees for the Missouri U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Blunt.
Attorney General Eric Schmitt, the Republican nominee for the Senate, said it was the first time he had met his opponent, Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine. Schmitt pointed to Busch Valentine’s backing of the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act.
“She came out in support of this inflation-boosting bill. And part of that is the Green New Deal, which will be a disaster for agriculture,” Schmitt said.
Busch Valentine defended her support of President Joe Biden’s climate initiatives.
“Whether you talk [about] the droughts and the floods, and the storms that have affected everybody in Missouri and have affected all the United States, we have to start looking at this,” Busch Valentine said.
As far as who will replace him, Blunt said he’s looking forward to doing all he can to make sure Schmitt is his successor. He also believes the campaign by independent candidate John Wood is misguided.
“I think Missourians want to vote for somebody who's gonna win the election, not someone who just decides they want to participate in the election,” Blunt said.
Follow Sarah Kellogg on Twitter: @sarahkkellogg
