Amendment 5 tax shift proposal overwhelmingly rejected by Missouri voters

By Ray McCarty, President and CEO, Associated Industries of Missouri

August 5, 2026 - Unofficial election results published by the Secretary of State's Office show Amendment 5, the proposal to replace the individual income tax with expanded and increased sales and use taxes, was overwhelmingly rejected by voters statewide, with 17% in favor and 83% against. The final unofficial vote tally was 233,309 in favor, 1,165,085 against the measure.

"Associated Industries of Missouri was the only statewide business group that worked hard as the proposal was developing during the legislative session to add sufficient guardrails to the proposal, but our efforts were unsuccessful," said Ray McCarty. "In the end, only one of our numerous recommendations was included in the final resolution that became Amendment 5, leaving taxpayers, including business taxpayers, vulnerable to increased tax burden if the measure would have been approved by voters."

We have already started conversations with legislators to provide responsible tax relief in a measured way, as we have done over the last 9 years, using growth in state revenues to gradually reduce the income tax burden. More on this as we approach the next legislative session.

Associated Industries of Missouri would like to thank the legislators who took strong positions to protect Missouri taxpayers, including Sen. Joe Nicola, one of three senators who stood in opposition to the plan on the Senate floor prior to the final Senate vote and engaged with us in an effort to educate the public on the proposal.