SJR-29, or the Senate version of the bill that would replace Missouri’s income tax with a sales tax, has passed out of the Senate Government Affairs and Fiscal Oversight Committee (GAFO). Now, if you recall Schoolhouse Rock’s ‘How a Bill Becomes Law’, getting a bill through committee is only one of the first steps, before being passed by both chambers and signed by the Governor: and in the case of this bill, it still wouldn’t be law until voters approved the measure on the ballot.
So why am I so excited about this? Well, last year’s bill (HB56 by Ed Emery) was passed by the House midway through session, but was killed in the Senate Ways and Means Committee before it even got a chance to be heard in the Senate. This year, the Senate is acting swiftly on progressing this year’s bill.
What’s different this year? Maybe a few things: While this bill isn’t identical to the national idea of the Fair Tax, the principle of not punishing people for working is the same, and the Fair Tax coalition is revved up, they are cohesive, they are driven, and they have rallied around this bill in Missouri.
Also, I think there is a true cross-section of people who believe this just makes sense, and they are getting involved and talking to their elected officials. Even people who haven’t been involved in politics before see the significance of this bill for the future. This is one bill that has the potential to give voters a say in the way they are taxed. It has the potential to create more jobs than any other ‘jobs bill’ out there, and that is a vital concern for so many people. For small business owners, for workers whose industries have been hit hard, a chance to bulwark Missouri industries of any stripe and create jobs and draw in customers may mean the difference that keeps them in business, employed & hiring.
What’s not different this year is the media’s askance glance at this bill. It would be worthwhile to let people really dig into this issue, and having media act as a hub for exploring this bill I think would help a lot of people. This bill, more than any other this year in Missouri, has so much power to address the grievous unemployment rate and give Missourians security, growth and dignity. I am going to keep coming back to that word: dignity. I think it’s really important, and is the thread that ties issues of business, employment, family stability, freedom and the American Dream together.
