It’s not a mystery why the promise of tax cuts is always a popular campaign talking point, one which delivers excited cheers from crowds of any political ideology.
While taxes are, as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes described them, “the price we pay for a civilized society,” it’s always been my belief that elected lawmakers have a duty to make life better for all people in their communities. That can sometimes mean imposing a tax to fund a vital public service, but also means providing as much tax relief as possible to those who need it.
The way to decide which of those solutions is best, is to weigh the value of each dollar of tax revenue collected against the public benefit it provides.
For example, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is funded by the federal government. In 2024, Missourians received $1.51 billion in food benefits from SNAP.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates in a weak economy $1 in SNAP benefits generates between $1.50 an $1.79 in economic activity. That’s because the program lowers the poverty rate by 14 to 16 percent and lowers both the direct and indirect health-related costs of food insecurity within the community. Those costs are estimated to be in the hundreds of billions.
The larger point, however, is that this program provides both relief to households and a public benefit at the same time, representing the type of tax cut I support the most.
When we consider the tax cuts currently being promised by Missouri Republicans – including those on capital gains, corporate income, individual income and personal property – we can see a platform void of any clear strategy that is the result of Republicans overpromising impractical cuts, which they and everyone else know will not come to fruition.
When I look at the largest beneficiaries of those taxes, it’s clear to see to whom the majority party is ultimately loyal.
Cutting taxes on personal property obviously disproportionately benefits those with the most property. Cutting taxes on capital gains disproportionately benefits those who don’t even work for their money. Cutting taxes on individual income does have the broadest impact of the three, however, income taxes also represent a such a significant portion of our state revenue that even suggesting cuts without a comprehensive rewrite of our state budget is just not a serious proposal. Democrats are serious.
We’re supporting a tax cut that would apply to everyone in the state who buys food items at a grocery store, aka: everyone.
In 1999, the state’s sales tax rate for food was reduced from 4.225% to 1.225%, but the fact that such items are even taxed at all in Missouri puts the state in an embarrassing club with only 11 remaining members.
Meanwhile, 44 states tax corporate income, 38 states tax personal property and 43 states tax individual income.
The state legislature’s continued failure to repeal the tax on food items, to say nothing of other necessities such as diapers and period products, should reveal where the priorities of the majority lie.
Understanding that any tax cut policy will need to come along with solutions to make up the lost funding, we should be prioritizing that which will benefit the most Missourians who desperately need relief at the checkout counter.
Missourians sent us to Jefferson City to make the tough decisions and the right decisions, and that’s what House Democrats are here to do.
Representative Ashley Aune, a Democrat, represents parts of Platte County (District 14) in the Missouri House of Representatives including Kansas City, Weatherby Lake, and Lake Waukomis.
Aune was elected to her first term in 2020, her second term in 2022, and her third in 2024, when she was elected the House Minority Leader.
During her first term in office, she was appointed by the Governor to the Missouri Military Preparedness and Enhancement Commission where she worked with military and civilian leaders across the state to make Missouri the most welcoming place for active duty and retired military members and their families.
Prior to politics, Representative Aune worked in marketing and owned her own agency. She received a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from the University of Kansas with a minor in English. Born in Colorado and raised in Kansas, Aune now lives in the Kansas City Northland with her husband and stepdaughter.
