As the author of the business tax cutting portion of House Bill 253, Associated Industries of Missouri is disappointed by the failure of the Missouri House of Representatives to override the governor’s veto. The vote on the bill fell short by 15 votes and there were 15 Republicans that voted against the bill. Republicans voting “no” on the bill were: Representatives Entlicher, Fitzwater, Fowler, Fraker, Gannon, Hampton, Messenger, Morris, Pfautsch, Phillips, Redmon, Rowland, Thomson, Walker, and Wood.
AIM is committed to drafting a broad-based tax cut bill that the Republican majority in the Missouri legislature can support during the upcoming session. “Passing this kind of legislation is a process,” said AIM president Ray McCarty, noting that this is the farthest AIM’s legislation has progressed in the three years it has been introduced. “We are grateful to have seen the concept of a broad-based tax cut for businesses and individuals come this far, and look forward to its passage in the session to come.”
McCarty says AIM is open to working with the governor and legislative leaders to come up with a package of tax cuts that all can support. “But we are not going to back down from our position that broad-based tax relief is necessary to keep Missouri competitive,” said McCarty. “It will continue to be our position that broad-based tax relief must include all Missouri employers, from the largest to the smallest.”
McCarty says AIM will watch with interest the voting records of legislators on a number of bills during the veto session, including this tax cut vote. “We want to see which legislators stand with business and which don’t,” said McCarty. “Their votes will be noted and rated by AIM and communicated to our membership.”
“This is an important time for business in the state of Missouri,” said McCarty. “The actions of this legislature during this veto session and during the upcoming regular session will go a long way to determining whether Missouri will be among the leaders in a rebuilding economy.”
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