Some municipalities in Saint Louis County have filed suit to overturn a state law granting counties more tax increment financing (TIF) authority. However, counties are better positioned than municipalities to make good decisions about the use of TIF, and have a history of using these and other tax incentives more selectively.
Although the economic growth benefits of tax credits are easy to see, it’s harder to see their drawbacks. Looking more carefully at the evidence and applying basic economics shows that lowering tax rates across the board is much more efficient at encouraging growth than singling out a few credit recipients at the expense of everybody else.
Tuition tax credits are the most effective policy solution for parents with autistic children. Insurance mandates wouldn’t provide sufficient coverage for specialized education, and most public schools aren’t set up to treat autism. Tax credits would help all autistic kids without placing excessive burdens on individual school districts.
Tax credits may seem like a great idea to encourage growth by enticing firms to relocate to Missouri, but the reasoning used to support this type of development is almost certainly wrong. The higher marginal tax rates created by targeted credits actually eliminate more jobs than are created by the tax credit beneficiaries.
Counties in Missouri have for decades had the power to levy annual license fees on any public establishment that hosts a pool table. A holdover from earlier times when pool halls were seen as social ills, the tax remains in many areas today. This amounts to an endorsement of some types of recreational activities, and a punishment of others.
The Show-Me Institute has opened a satellite office in Columbia, Mo., allowing it to expand its operations in central Missouri. The close proximity of the Columbia office to the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City will make the Show-Me Institute's studies and other research much more accessible to policymakers and other leaders who want to stay informed about market solutions for Missouri public policy.
Officials who use tax credits as a plan to spur economic development tend to rely on discredited economic models. SB 1234 is one such bill, designed to attract “mega-projects” and spur related job creation. Such tax credits will cost taxpayers millions of dollars, without any reliable way of predicting relevant economic growth.
Earnings taxes may seem small, but 1 percent can add up to a significant amount over time. This is one reason suburbs have flourished near large urban centers in Missouri. Nearby towns may offer a similar range of living and employment opportunities, but with a much lower long-term aggregate tax burden.
Local taxes tend to vary significantly throughout Missouri, but most people don’t have the resources to compare tax rates for cities and counties throughout the state. The Show-Me Institute has created a new tax estimator that provides users with the ability to make more informed decisions about where to work and live.
The Show-Me Institute created "Show-Me: The Taxes" — a Missouri state and local tax estimator. We collected local tax rates from across the state in order to help Missourians better understand the taxes they pay. The estimator can be downloaded from www.ShowMeLiving.org.
Arnold v. Tourkakis was a rare opportunity for Missouri to protect its citizens property rights, but the state’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of eminent domain for private development — letting that chance sail by. Other property owners throughout the state must now face the sad reality that everybody’s homes and businesses are at risk.
Local governments often try to lure favored businesses with tax breaks or TIFs. But Saint Charles County rejects these incentives, and has been Missouri’s fastest-growing county in Missouri for three decades. It’s more important to create a favorable tax and regulatory climate across the board, attracting a wide base of business and development.
Missourians should consider the benefits of tolling and public-private partnerships for the state’s transportation infrastructure: up-front financing, quicker turnaround for some projects, and the assurance that those who actually use a new facility will help to pay for it — leading to fewer incentives to hike traditional gas tax funds.
A review of recent Show-Me Institute policy studies.
A message from Jim Forsyth, of the board of directors, about how economic freedom and the entrepreurial spirit are the real driving forces behind widespread prosperity.
A look at Beverly Gossage's recent trip to attend a Cato Institute health care summit in Baltimore.
A profile of the Show-Me Institute's research director, Joe Haslag, who also works as an economics professor at the University of Missouri–Columbia.
An overview of the Show-Me Institute's groundbreaking education funding conference in October.
Briefs about how the Show-Me Institute has made recent appearances in the Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Foundation's quarterly magazine The Insider.
A new study, jointly produced by the Show-Me Institute and the Reason Foundation, examines the relatively new funding paradigm of public-private partnerships and how such arrangements may benefit Missouri's public transportation infrastructure. The study provides an overview of the types of public-private partnerships that can be utilized for transportation projects, including their benefits and best practices, and responses to common concerns. It also explores how public-private partnerships can be used not only to upgrade, modernize, and expand Missouri’s road and bridge network, but also to improve the delivery of transit services.
Successful societies and growing economies have always depended on efficient transportation. As cars have become more efficient, the fuel taxes used to fund the state’s highways have leveled off — but the transportation needs of the state have not. Other states have looked to the private sector to provide transportation infrastructure, as a means of augmenting gas taxes. The people of Missouri would be well-served if officials were to give this new paradigm strong consideration as the economy evolves. Public roads, funded by gas taxes, will be the primary model for transportation in Missouri far into the foreseeable future. However, the options that public-private partnerships facilitate should be a part of the discussion for future transportation projects and plans.
On Wednesday, Feb. 13, Show-Me Institute policy analyst Dave Roland testified before the Missouri House Special Committee on Student Achievement and Senate Pensions, Veterans’ Affairs & General Laws. Roland considered common objections to tuition tax credit programs that are raised on constitutional grounds, but argued that tax credits do not constitute a grant of public funds, and therefore would not run afoul of religion-related constutitional restrictions.
The tremendous drawbacks of the light-rail plan approved by Kansas City voters required intervention by the City Council. Now, as officials attempt to balance competing transit goals, they should consider non-rail alternatives like additional bus–rapid transit lines and allowing private contractors to bid on the right to operate bus routes.
Many of us who have elderly family members living in nursing homes feel a natural urge to protect them through government regulation. But before passing new legislation, it’s important to determine whether the proposed regulations will actually have the desired effect of protecting Missouri’s elderly citizens.
