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Missouri voters rejected a ballot measure in Tuesday’s primary election that would’ve abolished state income taxes.
While nine states have phased out individual income taxes, Missouri voters apparently feared an increase in other forms of taxation to make up for the revenue loss.
The measure, Amendment No. 5, was rejected by an 84%-16% vote, with about a fifth of the ballots tallied. Missouri GOP Gov. Mike Kehoe backed eliminating the income tax.
Opponents of the change claimed that the state’s highest earners would’ve benefitted the most, while public areas like schools, prisons and social services would’ve been directly impacted.
Concerns were also expressed about the potential for expanded sales taxes across the state in response to the income tax phase-out.
Currently, Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming do not levy any individual income tax.
Roughly 63% of the state’s general revenue in fiscal year 2025 originates from individual income taxes.
Prior to the vote, state Rep. Bishop Davidson — who sponsored the change — did not name a replacement revenue source.
The Missouri REALTORS group led the opposition to the change, and donated to “Missourians for Fair Taxation” and to the “Protect MO Taxpayers” campaign, per KSHB 41.
One Missourian, Mary Jean Miller, who voted no on the provision, told KSHB that the amendment felt like they put in “buzzwords” to “package this up in a way that sounds really good, so long as you don’t look too closely at it.”
In the states that do not levy an income tax, the taxes are made up through other sources.
In Florida, for example, state sales tax makes up 79% of total tax revenue. In New York, a similarly populated state that still levies an income tax, sales tax only makes up 26% of total taxes.
Missouri is also one of the states that did not conform to some of the federal tax breaks in the “One Big, Beautiful Bill.” Residents still pay state taxes on tips and overtime.
The state has a graduated individual income tax ranging from 2% to 4.7%. The average annual state and local tax collection is $5,286 per capita.
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