State Tax Policy

Working families with low-wages may earn too little money to owe income taxes, but they contribute significant portions of their income to state general revenue in sales and property taxes. In fact, in Missouri, the lower your earnings, the more you pay in state and local taxes Read More

A number of tax changes made over the last three decades have resulted in an inadequate, upside-down tax system where low- and middle-income Missourians pay a higher share of their income in taxes than the richest Missourians, and out-of-state corporations pay less than their Read More

Increasing housing values and associated property taxes can price older people out of the homes they have lived in for decades, separating them from their neighbors and communities. Similarly, rising costs can make accessible housing unaffordable for Missourians with Read More

Updated November 16th, 2022: The earlier version showed an incorrect figure for the impact of reducing the top rate from 5.3 to 4.3% on the middle 20% of income earners. The earlier version showed -155; the correct figure is -115. Read More

As the number of older Missourians increases, demand for programs serving older adults and people living with disabilities has grown dramatically. However, the availability of and funding for these services has not kept pace. This report provides an overview of state programs Read More

A variety of revenue sources contribute to the state public services Missourians rely on as a foundation to build their lives. In addition to federal funds, sources include income and sales taxes, gas and tobacco taxes, and lottery and gaming revenue. This diversity of funding Read More

Governor Parson’s recently released tax proposal would leave out about 1/3 of Missourians, including many of those who pay the highest proportion of their income in state & local taxes, and set the state up for a Kansas-like budget bomb that would require significant cuts to Read More

At the end of the 2022 state legislative session lawmakers approved House Bill 2090, to provide “economic recovery” payments to Missourians.  Intended to help families meet the rising cost of inflation, the bill had a fundamental flaw in that it would leave out more than Read More

A Missouri House proposal to provide economic recovery payments to Missourians intended to help families meet the rising cost of inflation would leave out one-third of Missouri taxpayers, including families earning low wages and seniors who rely on Social Security income. By Read More

Updated March 15, 2022 While Missouri’s economic recovery is on the right track, many Missourians are still struggling from the economic fallout of the pandemic. Policymakers can help Missouri families get back on their feet by using a portion of the state’s federal fiscal Read More