COSTLY REFUNDS

The failure of the Mel Carnahan administration and the Democrat-controlled General Assembly to exercise prudent and responsible fiscal policies will wind up costing Missouri's taxpayers several million dollars. This is the result of excessive taxation and a bulge in state revenue that have combined to exceed the limits of the Hancock Amendment for the first time. The Hancock Amendment was approved more than a decade ago in an attempt to put a lid on the growth of state government.

Despite Hancock and its complex formula for limiting the growth of state revenue, Missourians have been forced to pay more and more taxes. One of the biggest bumps came shortly after Mel Carnahan became governor in 1993. This was when Senate Bill 380, the Outstanding Schools Act, added a $300 million-plus burden to all the state's taxpayers.

Instead of heading off the need for a tax refund under the Hancock provisions, both Carnahan and the Democratic leadership of the House and Senate blithely found ways to spend the generous increases in tax dollars rather than providing much-needed tax relief. In the session that ended last month, the General Assembly failed to act on tax cuts to avoid future refunds. But the legislators weren't so deadlocked that they couldn't find time to speed up the refund process so that taxpayers will get their checks before the November election instead of afterwards. Is this an election year or what?

Now the state treasurer's office estimates it will cost taxpayers about $1.4 million to issue the first batch of refund checks. That isn't a huge amount, given the state's $13 billion-plus annual budget. But it is $1.4 million that could have been spent on other needs -- or could have been applied toward a tax cut -- if the leadership of this state hadn't had its collective head in the sand.

And, since it looks like another refund will be necessary next year, taxpayers can look forward to wasting another million or so dollars on issuing the checks.

All of this is compounded by the fact that lawsuits are likely to spring up like crab grass once the first refund checks are mailed. This is because the Hancock Amendment lumps all state revenue into one pot for calculating the limits of annual growth. But the refunds will be sent only to payers of income taxes. This means other taxpayers are likely to want a court to decide if this is appropriate.

All of which could have been avoided with the right action at the helm. Carnahan continues to get glowing reviews for how he is spending tax dollars. It is about time he owned up to the blunder of runaway taxation.