Missouri to consider ending business tax slammed by Trump

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri lawmaker says President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to slash corporate income taxes could create momentum to eliminate those taxes completely in the state. Republican state Sen. Will Kraus is proposing phasing out Missouri’s 6.25 percent corporate income tax by 2019. Kraus told The Associated Press that the goal is to attract companies and increase jobs. Missouri would be one of only three states without a corporate income tax or other business tax. Missouri’s flat corporate income tax already is lower than the top rate in most surrounding states. Spokeswoman Traci Gleason of the liberal Missouri Budget Project says cutting the tax now is unwise because the state already is struggling to pay bills. Outgoing Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon this past week announced another round of budget cuts.