Deferring taxes would create revenue burden

On the one hand, Gov. Bob Holden has painted such a gloomy financial picture for Missouri government that tax increases and other revenue boosts will be necessary just to make ends meet.

On the other hand, there are proposals floating around the legislative hallways in Jefferson City to enact cuts in order to ease the burden on some taxpayers.

This is not a case of one hand not knowing what the other is doing. These hands belong to able politicians who have been elected to office and are thoroughly familiar with how much state government costs and who foots the bill.

The latest questionable proposal is the one to give elderly Missourians a break on their property taxes.

State Sen. Wayne Goode of Normandy likes the law Oregon has had for more than 30 years that lets older homeowners defer part or all of their property-tax bill until they sell their home or die.

As proposed by Goode, senior citizens with annual incomes of under $32,000 could defer all of their property taxes. Those who make more than $32,000 but less than $64,000 would be allowed to defer any increase in property taxes after they turn 62 -- or, if they are already 62, any increase over their 2001 tax bills.

But those deferred taxes would have to be paid when the elderly homeowners died or sold their homes. And in the meantime, Goode proposes, the state would make up any lost revenue to taxing entities that rely on property taxes for revenue. That would mainly be school districts, which are the biggest users or property-tax revenue.

While deferring taxes would appeal to almost anyone, young or old, the notion of putting off what has to be paid is a notion that shouldn't make sense to most older Missourians, unless there is a compelling hardship. Even then, the state already has its circuit-breaker law that is designed to help needy senior citizens with their property-tax bills.

But the biggest objection to deferring taxes is the burden it would put on the state to come up with replacement funds for school districts and others. In a year that looks tight at best and dismal at worst, it just doesn't make sense to be talking about putting off paying property taxes for a few while everyone else has to pay.

Senior citizens have a number of options for meeting their tax obligations, including dipping into savings, reverse mortgages and electing officials who will tackle spending issues with a mind toward cutting taxes, not finding ways to exempt some folks from having to pay.

There must be a good reason no other state has latched on to Oregon's interesting tax plan for the elderly. For most Missourians, it just doesn't make sense.