Speaker of the House Rod Jetton’s (R-Marble Hill) $300 million tax cut proposal (HB 444) has been put on a weight reduction plan in the Missouri Senate. The Senate Ways and Means committee has tossed out the tax exemptions for public retirement pensions and decided to phase in over six years the proposed tax deduction on social security benefits.

Due to these changes, the bill has a new fiscal note with a lot less sticker shock. Three years out the new tax break is projected to reduce state revenue by $63 million. No projection is made for when the tax exemption is fully in place, but previous estimates by the Governor’s office put the figure at about $131 million.

The Missouri Catholic Conference continues to oppose the tax cut and is urging lawmakers to instead restore vital state services, most notably Medicaid health coverage lost due to the 2005 funding cuts made by the legislature. The proposal only benefits more affluent senior citizens. In fact, 72% of seniors will receive no benefit from the tax cut.

Catholic teaching calls for taxes to be assessed based on ability to pay. The stronger should be asked to carry the heavier burden in order to promote the common good. Catholic teaching also calls for taxes to be adequate to ensure the maintenance of the common good. Due to the 2005 funding cuts well over 100,000 of Missouri’s poorest citizens lost their health coverage. A mother with two children can now make no more than $3,504 annually to qualify for Medicaid, or about 20% of the federal poverty level.

Pro-life Bill Advances

HB 1055 sponsored by Theresa Sanders, (R-Moberly) is an omnibus anti-abortion bill that has been approved by the House and awaits action by the Missouri Senate. This legislation modifies the definition of “ambulatory surgical center” to include any establishment that regularly performs abortions, seeks to place in statute the Alternatives to Abortion Program, and prohibits abortion providers from providing or presenting sex education material in public schools. The bill calls on public school sex education programs to focus on the promotion of abstinence.

The MCC is urging citizens to contact senators to support HB 1055 and to ensure the bill comes to a vote and passes the legislature so Gov. Blunt can sign it into law.