PROPOSITION B WON'T COST A LOT TO TAXPAYERS

Most Missouri taxpayers won't be severely burdened by Proposition B, say proponents of the tax-and-reform measure for education.

Sam Cook, co-chairman of Missourians for Quality Education, a statewide group pushing for passage of the Nov. 5 ballot measure, said the proposition's funding provisions will have little effect on most taxpayers and will provide a tax break for lower- and middle-income families.

"One of the plan's most attractive features is the doubling of the exemption for dependents, from $400 to $800," said Cook. "This is a big break for these taxpayers and it's the first such tax break they've gotten since 1945."

The increase in the dependent exemption will provide $30 million in tax relief for more than 750,000 Missouri families, Proposition B supporters point out. They say the tax relief will help offset Proposition B's three-eighths-cent hike in the sales tax.

It's estimated that a two-earner Missouri family with two dependents and income of $32,500 a year the median family income in the state would pay $5 more a year in taxes or 42 cents more a month.

According to state government's Office of Administration, such a family would pay $49 more a year as a result of the sales tax hike. But the family would pay $44 less in income taxes as a result of the increase in the dependent exemption.

In addition to the sales tax hike, Proposition B would raise revenue by:

Limiting the federal income tax deduction to $7,500 per taxpayer or a maximum of $15,000 on a combined return. Few households would be affected by the cap, Proposition B supporters maintain.

Limiting the deduction for Social Security taxes paid by self-employed persons who itemize their deductions.

Increasing the cigarette tax to 18 cents a pack, a nickel hike. It's estimated that a pack-a-day smoker would pay $1.52 more a month under the measure.

Imposing a 10 percent tax on other tobacco products.

Retaining a 1.5 percent tax on corporations with taxable income above $100,000.

If voters approve the ballot measure, it won't mean a "massive raid on their pocketbooks," said Bruce Parrish, faculty chairman on Southeast Missouri State University's Proposition B task force.

Parrish said taxpayers should understand that Proposition B won't be a financial burden to them. "I think it is important for them to know that it is not going to be extremely costly; it is quite affordable."