Missouri house leadership pushes to pass billion-dollar house bill
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ.)
Missouri house leadership is pushing to pass House Bill 3021, which would provide a one-time economic recovery tax for individuals and married couples.
Groups led by the Missouri Budget Project acknowledge the House leadership's attempt to provide direct assistance to families but say the recovery payment leaves out Missourians who need it the most.
However, some house representatives feel that the tax credit does apply to working-class citizens but others don't see this representation highlighted in the proposal.
"But I do think that there is something to be said for those who continue to struggle to maintain ends meet and quite frankly we're not addressing that in this legislation," state Representative Maggie Nurrenbern (D - 15) said.
If House Bill 3021 is passed it would provide a recovery tax credit of up to $500 for individuals and up to $1000 for married couples.
But Missouri's budget project says nearly 400,000 Missouri households make so little money they don't owe any state income taxes, and wouldn't see any benefits.
The group says those people still pay state and local taxes.
A recent analysis showed that Missouri families in the bottom quintile of income pay nearly 10 percent of their income in state and local taxes compared to just 6.2 percent for the wealthiest 1 percent of families.
Some Missouri State representatives say the pandemic hit lower class people hardest, and many families are still trying to recover.
The Missouri Budget Project says 30 percent of Missourians report that they're having trouble meeting their household expenses.
But state Rep. Scott Cupps (R - 158) disagrees and feels that the proposal that targets all people not just upper-class citizens.
"It does go to working-class people that that are paying taxes. Even if you get a refund and you never actually caught a check you are cutting a check to them with the withholdings with x amount from your check with your employer. And so your tax liability is the same whether you have maximum withholdings or no withholdings," said Cupps.
Missouri state representative decided to reschedule its next meeting to Thursday to gather more data and further discuss how exactly the proposal is tailored.
