Blunt hopes to reduce senior tax cut to original amount

The tax cut aimed at senior citizens ballooned during House debate, and Gov. Matt Blunt is counting on the Missouri Senate to pare it back closer to its original $110 million annual price tag.

At a news conference and rally Saturday at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center, Blunt was joined by House Speaker Rod Jetton, R-Marble Hill, and other area legislators in urging support for the proposal. Blunt wants to remove Social Security benefits from calculations of taxable income.

But he also cautioned that the measure needs a lower cost. If passed in its current form, the tax cut would reduce state revenue by $286 million the first year and by $301 million annually by 2010.

"I am here to talk about the initial objective," Blunt said to reporters and about 30 older residents gathered at the center. "That is close to where we need to end up."

Read more in Sunday's Southeast Missourian.