MO Catholic Conference Opposes Sinquefield Tax Hike: "Mega-Sales Tax Would Shift Tax Burden to Poor"
The St. Louis Review, the official publication of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, writes about the Missouri Catholic Conference's criticism of Rex Sinquefield's plan to hike state sales taxes and gut state services today. In short, Sinquefield's "proposed tax would unduly harm Missouri's working poor."
A former state budget director says a proposed mega-sales tax would shift more of the tax burden to lower and middle-income Missourians. The analysis by James Moody confirms concerns raised by the Missouri Catholic Conference that the proposed tax would unduly harm Missouri's working poor.
Moody, who worked under Republican Gov. John Ashcroft, projects that a tax rate of 15 percent would be required if the proposal is to replace all of the revenue generated by Missouri's existing taxes and provide a "prebate" for people whose incomes are below the poverty level to offset the regressive nature of the proposed tax. Economists consider sales taxes to be regressive because they shift more of the tax burden to lower-income taxpayers...
Mike Hoey, the executive director of the Missouri Catholic Conference, said the Moody analysis underscores why the mega-sales tax is harmful to ordinary Missouri taxpayers, including the poor: "The mega-sales tax proposals unjustly tax the working poor," Hoey said. "And if backers cap their tax rate at 7 percent, the mega-sales tax will not replace current state revenue. That will lead to catastrophic state budget cuts."
Hoey said essential services for the Missouri's most vulnerable citizens could be eliminated. He cited the Alternatives to Abortion program, in-home care for the indigent elderly and rehabilitation services for those with mental and physical disabilities.
