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December 20, 1999 Ho Ho Ho...Taxes Taxes Taxes It is that time of year again--The time when we are al pledging not to spend as much on the Christmas holiday season as we did last year...The time when we decide to cut up those credit cards once and for all...And, the time when that nasty little statement comes from your local officials for your property and real estate taxes. BAM! There it is, at the worst time of the year, just as you were thinking you were going to stay within your budget! Worst of all, in most areas around the state, your local assessment went up. This unfortunate timing and the rising assessments have led me to a couple of conclusions. First, I am proud of the fact that our Missouri state government has been a leader around the country in cutting your taxes. In fact, since 1997, we have passed over $675 million in tax cuts. That is an addition to the $500 million that has been constitutionally refunded to the taxpayers. The savings range from elimination of the state sales tax on food to increasing the personal exemption to creating a private pension exemption on income taxes to creating a pharmaceutical tax credit for the elderly. These are meaningful tax cuts designed to help everyone better make ends meet, especially working families. Second, we must come up with a better way to fund improvements to education. Reliance on property taxes can only take up so far. Working families and seniors on fixed incomes simply cannot afford the burden of ever rising property taxes, especially when that burden comes in one big hit at the end of the year. For this reason, for the past few years I have been advocating that the state and federal government relieve the burden of rising property taxes by helping schools to construct school buildings. | |||||
Paid for by Kreider for Senator.
Bobby Neal Jr., Treasurer. Not at taxpayer's expense.
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