Read this article on how Arkansas is responding to the pressure to make their state competitive as states like Missouri work to increase jobs and grow the economy through state income tax reform.

A bill that would lower Kansas income tax received more support this week as Kansas Secretary of Revenue, Nick Jordan continues to tout this legislation which would bring more jobs to Kansas.

This growing support only highlights the importance of our efforts to continue to make Missouri a great state.

While Kansas and Oklahoma continue to move forward in the effort to lower their state’s income tax, interest in tax reform is only increasing as awareness of the issue spreads across the country. Earlier this week in a town hall style meeting, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie proposed cutting the state’s income tax by 10 percent over the next 3 years. A little closer to home, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has created a committee of citizens and lawmakers to examine ways to improve their state’s tax code.

Proposed measure would put dollars back in diners’ paychecks, boost industry

February 9, 2012 (Jefferson City, Mo.) – The Missouri Restaurant Association (MRA) today announced its endorsement of the Missouri Taxpayer Relief Act. The proposed ballot measure, which would phase out Missouri’s state income tax and replace it with a consumer-driven sales tax, received strong support from MRA leadership and members statewide.

“The Missouri Taxpayer Relief Act gives all working Missourians a permanent 6 percent pay raise, because state income tax will no longer be subtracted from their paychecks,” said Missouri Restaurant Association Chief Executive Officer Bob Bonney. “When families have more take-home pay, they spend more money in their local communities. As our members know, disposable income is the lifeblood of our industry.”

The Missouri Taxpayer Relief Act is supported by Let Voters Decide, a statewide coalition that advances common-sense approaches to tax reform.

“We are delighted to have the endorsement of the Missouri Restaurant Association,” said Let Voters Decide President Travis H. Brown. “The MRA is a grassroots, member-driven organization with the goal of keeping and growing jobs in Missouri – and the Missouri Taxpayer Relief Act is a real jobs plan for our state.”

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About the Missouri Restaurant Association

The Missouri Restaurant Association (MRA) is dedicated to serving the needs of the foodservice and hospitality industry, enhancing and improving its growth and development, assisting and educating its members in operating more effectively and improving the political and social environments in which the industry conducts business. It operates for the benefit of its members, patrons, employees and the well-being of the community.

“They have also recorded faster revenue growth to pay for government services over the past two decades than states with income taxes. That’s because growth in the economy from attracting jobs and capital has meant greater tax collections.”

In Kansas, the Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce welcomed a large crowd to its discussion of tax reform. Nick Jordan, the state’s Secretary of Revenue, said that Kansas Governor Sam Brownback “is tuned in like a radar on growing the economy in Kansas.”

In Oklahoma, Governor Mary Fallin outlined her ambitious plan for cutting the state income tax in all tax brackets. Fallin’s proposal calls for broad-based tax relief that would attract businesses and help working families keep more money in their paychecks.

Be sure to bookmark LetVotersDecide.com to receive all the latest updates about tax reform, in our state and around the nation.

“We’re disappointed that our opponents choose to spread misinformation,” said Travis H. Brown, president of Let Voters Decide. “However, while they operate using politics-as-usual tactics, we are doing the hard work to help Missouri grow again.”

Currently, Missouri’s gross domestic product ranks a dismal 48^th in growth. By phasing out the income tax and replacing it with a broad-based, consumer-driven sales tax, the state would experience both economic growth and revenue stability.

The opposition ignores (or, worse, purposefully distorts) the fact that the income tax affects nearly every working family in Missouri. Far from being a “rich person’s tax,” the state income tax kicks in at the first $100 of earnings and reaches the maximum rate (6 percent) at $9,000. Additionally, the Missouri Taxpayer Relief Act protects low-income Missourians by not charging a sales tax on such necessary items as child care, rent, school fees and health care. This includes emergency-room visits and in-home care, which the opposition group Coalition for Missouri’s Future falsely claims will be subject to the sales tax.

“We understand and appreciate healthy debate, but our opponents’ decision to lie to the voters of Missouri is just wrong,” added Brown. “Their spokespeople claim that voters don’t know the language of our measure, yet that language has been publically available for months. Not only is it on the Internet, but it’s on the petitions that thousands of Missourians have signed.”

In short, we need to pass the Missouri Taxpayer Relief Act.

Read about the work underway in Oklahoma - and help Missouri get on the path toward growth by joining the Let Voters Decide coalition today.

In order to provide the level of state services that Missourians have come to expect over the years, we also have to find a source of revenue to replace funds that now come from income tax. Fortunately, we already have what Dr. Laffer calls “the most efficient tax”: the sales tax. Today, Missouri’s sales tax rate is low and on a narrow base that doesn’t include services (a huge sector of our economy) and has been carved up over time to benefit special interests. Our measure brings in the additional revenue we need by 1) broadening the base to include many services and 2) raising the rate to be comparable to Tennessee, a similar state with no income tax.

The way we tax matters. Collecting revenue by a sales tax, rather than an income tax, will put Missouri in a much better position to grow jobs while keeping our funding promises. And we’ll see a stronger, more stable budget that reflects, rather than holds hostage, Missouri’s growth.