Expect broad support for senior tax bills

By Jason Crowell

I am writing in response to the Jan. 14 article titled "Tax exemption for seniors may face Senate resistance."

The article focused on what the reporter says is a popular notion in the Missouri House to eliminate the state income tax on Social Security benefits, but then alleges that there is a lack of effort in the Senate to embrace the idea. The author further points out that 10 House bills dealing with the issue have been introduced and that only one Senate bill has been put forth. This is incorrect.

In addition to Senate Bill 59, which the reporter mentioned, I introduced Senate Bill 230 in early January to exclude 100 percent of Social Security benefits from Missourians' taxable income. And I know there are other similarly aligned measures yet to be filed.

On the surface, it may seem that the Senate is not behind cutting this unreasonable tax on Missouri retirees. But percentagewise, two bills for 34 Senate members is nearly the same as 10 bills for 163 House members.

As House Speaker Rod Jetton has said, the state tax on senior citizens' Social Security benefits does not make sense. Only 15 states currently tax Social Security benefits as income, and two of them are in the process of doing away with the practice.

In the Show Me State, our economy is thriving due to wise decisions and investments in recent years.

This trend is projected to continue as Missouri's revenue growth is expected to reach 4 percent in the current fiscal year.

Any extra money does not belong to state government but instead should go back to retirees, who have been taxed on their incomes for their entire working careers. It is unfair to make them pay taxes twice.

Now that many retirees are no longer bringing home a paycheck, they need relief. Their monthly incomes are fixed, but the same cannot be said for their expenses, especially considering the rising cost of medical care and prescriptions.

By eliminating the tax on Social Security benefits, Missouri would inject approximately $116 million into the pockets of about 250,000 seniors. This translates to an additional $49 a month for these seniors. More money in their pockets translates into more money they have to put into the economy, which helps the state as a whole.

On a similar issue, I have also introduced legislation to exempt from state income taxation any annuities, pensions and retirement income for those who served in the armed forces. These individuals have gone above and beyond their civic duties, and they too deserve to receive their rightful benefits for their courageous service to this country.

Contrary to what the Southeast Missourian article indicated, I expect wide support for these efforts and others like it in both the House and the Senate. When it comes to the bottom line, Missouri can and should afford to improve the lives of senior citizens and retired military service members by relieving some of their tax burden.

Jason Crowell of Cape Girardeau represents the 27th District in the Missouri Senate.