Nodler Affirms Intention To Leave Towns In Legal Jeopardy

In the News-Press, Sen. Gary Nodler says his move to gut the House-supported stacked taxes fix may "discourage" legal challenges from folks like former Rep. Tom Burcham, but "leaves the status quo in place."

There's something very odd about this move from Nodler.  The current law is unclear -- some judges have allowed cities to pass multiple sales taxes, relying on a Department of Revenue interpretation, but other judges have said that practice is improper.  Burcham has gone all over the state looking for towns to sue (though curiously, he's not interested in suing his own town of Farmington). 

The goal of the House-passed legislation is to clear up this ambiguity.

After months of public pressure, House Floor Leader Steve Tilley promised to pass a fix.  Senate Floor Leader Kevin Engler has done the same. Speaker Ron Richard -- allegedly the Most Powerful Man in Missouri -- wants the House-passed bill to become law.  Officials in Joplin, the hometown of both Nodler and Richard, want the fix.

Who is Nodler trying to help by going against the wishes of his home town and undermining the promises of Engler and Tilley?

Image credit: KOMUnews