Parson’s office pushes back on Galloway’s request for answers on delayed tax refunds

Gov. Mike Parson’s office said Monday that concerns voiced by Auditor Nicole Galloway are partisan in nature and ignore the successes of Missouri’s Department of Revenue.

DOR spokesperson Anne Marie Moy said Tuesday the department is still processing the tax refunds for about 45,000 Missourians, which are worth at least approximately $8.7 million. Moy said the state has already about $795,000 in interest to Missourians for delayed refunds.

Moy told ABC 17 News that a “once-in-a-generation” computer system change is causing “growing pains” and delays. Tax refunds delivered to Missourians by the state have been considered late since June 1, and have accrued interest payments since then.

Galloway’s office has received more than 1,600 complaints from Missourians regarding delayed refunds and send a letter to Parson’s office last week asking for a plan on how his office is going to address the issue.

“It is now up to the governor to direct his Department of Revenue to get answers and to get people their own money back,” Galloway told ABC 17 News. “My office is getting canned answers. Taxpayers are getting these generic answers, but generic answers don’t get people their money.”

In her letter, Galloway wrote that refunds in previous years had become “increasingly and deliberately delayed, sometimes at the direction of the administration to pay other bills first,” and that it appears the state is repeating those actions.

According to data from the Department of Revenue, the state has paid significantly more in interest this year than in the previous three years. The state’s total interest payments from January to June were $257,122 in 2016, $361,912 in 2017, $232,725 in 2018 and $641,268 in 2019.

“We saw that most refunds were paid in May instead of in June (2018),” said Galloway, who was appointed as auditor in 2015 by then-Gov. Jay Nixon and reelected in 2018. “Unfortunately, we are back in the same situation that has been occurring for years and years.”

Galloway, a Democrat, asked Parson, a Republican, to provide a plan on how his office would address the late refunds, as well as an update on the refunds of the 1,000+ individuals who submitted complaints to her office.

Aaron Willard, Parson’s chief of staff, responded to Galloway on Monday saying her claims were fueled by partisanship and pointing to the department’s “positive results.”

“You decided to forego addressing the issue for the two years a Democrat was in the Governor’s Office (Jay Nixon) and waiting until a Republican was elected to become involved,” Willard wrote. He added, “Your characterizations of DOR’s performance are woefully inaccurate.”

Willard’s letter did not include either of the items requested by Galloway. He said the department has already processed millions of refunds and that “significant tax reform” took place at the state and federal level ahead of the tax return deadline.

Read Willard’s letter to Auditor Galloway below:

“The response from the Governor’s office doesn’t address the fact that thousands of Missourians are still waiting on their tax refunds and includes no plan of action to get taxpayers the money they are owed,” Steph Deidrick, a spokesperson for Galloway’s office, told ABC 17 News in an email Tuesday.

Democratic state Rep. Kip Kendrick of Columbia, who is a veteran of the state budget committee, told ABC 17 News that the Department of Revenue has to work to regain the trust of lawmakers and the public.

During the previous legislative session, lawmakers investigated the department and found it had “covered up” mistakes to keep them from the public. In April, Galloway said the department was acting “in secrecy.”

“There has to be director communication with the General Assembly and all Missourians on what the short-term and long-terms solutions (for late tax refunds) will be,” Kendrick said.

Kendrick added that the interest payments, which are taken out of the state’s general revenue fund, could go towards other departments like the public defender’s office.

Joel Walters resigned as director of the Department of Revenue in March amid bipartisan criticism. Ken Zellers, the chief financial officers of the DOR, was appointed as the interim director and is still leading the department.

Last month, a spokesperson for the governor’s office said there was no update on the search for a permanent director.

The director of the Missouri Democratic Party said in June that Galloway was running for governor in 2020, but when she had no comment when ABC 17 News asked if she intended on seeking the top executive position.