Missouri’s tax fight just became a $3.8 million brawl

By Jason Hancock | Editor-in-Chief

Good morning,

Amendment 5 is headed for the August ballot, and the campaign around it is already drawing seven-figure checks from both sides. The proposal asks voters to give lawmakers a pathway to eliminate the state income tax by expanding or increasing sales taxes — an idea with enormous consequences for the state budget, businesses and household costs.

Meanwhile, Missouri’s school funding task force is trying to rewrite a formula built around local property wealth at a moment when counties are struggling to assess homes consistently.

by Jason Hancock

The August fight over Missouri’s income-tax proposal is getting expensive fast, with Realtors matching the pro-Amendment 5 campaign almost dollar for dollar.

by Annelise Hanshaw

A task force trying to update Missouri’s school funding formula has found a problem hiding in plain sight: local property values may no longer offer a fair measure of what communities can afford.

by Ivy Reed

Federal library funding touches more than bookshelves, and Missouri librarians say proposed cuts could strain services that small and rural communities rely on most.

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