TAXED OUT? STUDY SHOWS MISSOURI HAS INCREASED BURDEN

The tax burden in Missouri increased by 12 percent from 1996 to 1997, the second largest increase in the nation, a study by the Washington-based Tax Foundation shows.

Missouri ranked only behind Delaware's 16 percent increase.

Still, Missouri taxpayers fare better than their counterparts in 24 other states, a study by the nonprofit organization shows.

The study ranks Missouri 26th in total taxes per capita. Federal, state and local taxes total $8,421 for every man, woman and child in the state.

Connecticut ranked first with taxes amounting to $13,709 per capita. Mississippi ranked the lowest with $6,397 in taxes per capita.

The increased tax burden concerns state lawmakers like Rep. Don Lograsso, R-Blue Springs. Lograsso is one of the GOP leaders in the House in his role as assistant minority floor leader.

Lograsso said Missouri used to rank near the bottom in terms of tax burden.

But Lograsso said the state has gone from 48th or 49th to 26th.

He blames the increased tax burden in large part on Senate Bill 380, which raises taxes for education.

Local taxes also have increased in part because of minimum tax levies that the Legislature mandated for school districts, he said.

Gov. Mel Carnahan said in his proposed budget this week that Missouri ranks 49th in the nation in state and local revenue collected per capita.

Jay Wunderlich keeps track of taxes as executive director of the Taxpayers Research Institute of Missouri, based in Jefferson City.

He disputes both rankings. "I think they are both wrong," said Wunderlich.

"We are the 40 something state," he said.

By any definition, Missouri is a low-tax state, Wunderlich said.

Tax rankings often end up mired in statistical mud. "You can make numbers say anything you want," said Wunderlich.

Some states have income taxes, other states don't. Wunderlich said comparing tax burdens can be like comparing apples to oranges, with too many variables to make accurate comparisons.

Lograsso said the ranking of 49th is based on 1994 tax figures.

He accused Democrats of painting an inaccurate picture of the tax burden.

"I really dispute it when they use these scare tactics, like we are at the bottom of the list in the nation when we are not," Lograsso said.

Carnahan has proposed a $15.4 billion budget for the new fiscal year that begins July 1.

In a Jan. 8 memo to GOP lawmakers, Lograsso said Missouri's budget is the fastest growing state budget in the nation.

But an economist for the Tax Foundation said that his organization's tax analysis didn't address state budgets but rather total taxes from all levels of government.

The economist, Patrick Fleenor, said a better comparison of states is in taxes as a percent of income because the income level varies by state.

Based on that, Missouri ranks 31st with 34.3 percent of Missourians' income going to pay taxes. Most of that, about 23 percent, goes to federal taxes.

Republican lawmakers say even that ranking shows Missourians are overburdened with taxes.

Lograsso said more than a third of Missourians' income is going to pay taxes. "When the king did that, it sparked the Boston Tea Party," he said.

Two Southeast Missouri Democratic lawmakers put little stock in the Tax Foundation numbers.

State Reps. Joe Heckemeyer of Sikeston and Larry Thomason of Kennett said the bottom line is that Missouri is a low-tax state.

Heckemeyer said taxes are lower for farmers in Missouri than in many neighboring states.

He said lower taxes have prompted some Nebraska farmers to move their farming operations to Missouri.

Thomason said the Missouri General Assembly shouldn't be blamed for federal and local taxes.

He said the Legislature doesn't control those taxes.

"If you are going to say the General Assembly is tax happy or not tax happy, then you can only look at the things they can control," Thomason said.

"We are right flat at the bottom in state taxes imposed," said Thomason. "The only state lower is Alaska and they pay people to live there."

Federal taxes make up the largest portion of the tax burden, he said.

Local taxes are a significant factor in the state's two most populated areas, St. Louis and Kansas City, he said.

"The people with the high local taxes compose two-thirds of the state in terms of total population," Thomason said.

He said Missouri Republicans like to portray the state's Democratic legislators as tax-and-spend liberals.

But he said the record shows that the Democrats, who have controlled the General Assembly for over 40 years, are fiscally conservative.

"I defy anyone to say we are a high-tax state," Thomason said.