ONE MAN'S WAR ON TAXES

Frank Rycyk Jr. of Jefferson City has a lonely job. He is seeking 120,000 signatures on an initiative petition that, if approved, would force state government to seek voter approval on all tax increases. This is one person who wants to change the tax-and-spend mentality of Missouri. It is a good indication of the frustration of taxpayers who see state revenue growing at record levels without a hint of relief at tax time.

Many Missourians will remember the unsuccessful vote to amend the Missouri Constitution last fall. That proposal would have made it difficult to raise taxes, but it was so poorly worded and so complex that a statewide effort raising doubts about the changes were able to thwart voter approval. In the wake of that vote, the Legislature and the powerful Missouri Farm Bureau joined forces to put another measure on the ballot that would force a vote on tax increases only if they exceed $50 million or 1 percent of general revenue.

But Rycyk, like so many others, thinks state revenue not only is excessive, it could stand to be cut. At best, he would like to see a firm cap on taxation that would allow voters to decide what taxes should be added.

His is a simple proposal. The Legislature and the administration of Gov. Mel Carnahan clearly are in a spend-every-penny-you-can-find mode. No one wants to talk about tax cuts, particularly with major elections coming up in 1996. Rycyk has a long way to go to get his initiative on the ballot. Unless 120,000 Missourians join him in his effort, taxes will continue to take an ever bigger bite to pay for state government.