PRIMARY ISSUES

Every election is important, even though voter-turnout statistics clearly show that some elections generate far more interest than others.

In Tuesday's primary election, voters are likely to go to the polls in moderate numbers at best, even though there are some crucial choices to be made. In those primaries that are contested, the winner will become the candidate in November's general election.

In addition to the various candidate choices, voters also will be asked to approve a couple of issues relating to taxation and government spending. Voters who are prepared and informed before going to the polls Tuesday will be in a position to make good decisions. But many voters still will be surprised by questions regarding something called a "use tax" and regarding debt limits in school districts.

Both of these issues have generated very little campaign activity. They are the kinds of issues that don't have a lot of emotional appeal. Nonetheless, they could have far-reaching consequences, regardless of what the voters decide.

The use tax

Voters in many cities and counties across Missouri, including those in much of Southeast Missouri, are being asked to approve a use tax. Unless you make a lot of out-of-state purchases -- mainly large mail orders or companies that make sizable purchases from vendors outside Missouri -- you probably have little interest in the use tax.

In its simplest terms, a use tax is like a sales tax paid on purchases outside the state that exceed a limit that most casual buyers would never reach.

Proponents of the use tax point to the leveling effect of the use tax. They say in-state vendors, which must collect sales taxes and pay them to the Department of Revenue, are at a disadvantage when out-of-state vendors can sell the same items without either collecting or paying any tax to this state.

In addition, the use tax generates a good deal of revenue for both the state and for local jurisdictions such as the city and county of Cape Girardeau. Voter approval of the use tax would allow both to get revenue based on a use-tax rate equivalent to the local sales-tax rates.

There doesn't seem to be any organized opposition to the use tax, but any tax comes with built-in opponents. Many voters will simply see the word "tax" on the ballot and automatically assume it will take money out of their pockets. This caution is prudent in all tax issues. But in this case the use tax is a bit more complicated, which means each voter will have to consider the issue carefully.

School-district debt

Currently, Missouri's school districts aren't permitted to exceed 10 percent of their assessed valuations with bonded indebtedness. For some growing districts with lower assessed valuations, this mean building programs must be delayed or abandoned because of the limit.

A question on Tuesday's ballot will ask voters to decide on the issue of raising that limit to 15 percent. In districts like Cape Girardeau's where there is no debt, the issue is of low interest, because it would take several massive bond issues to reach even the current 10 percent level.

But other districts are in far different situations, and officials in those districts tend to favor raising the limit.

What voters will have to decide is why there is a limit in the first place. Is it a question of good fiscal policy to have a statewide limit on bonded indebtedness? It can be pointed out, for example, that regardless of the limit local voters much approve each and every bond issue by a supermajority.