Blunt Vetoes Quality Jobs Act

On KY3’s Political Notebook blog, a post discusses Gov. Matt Blunt vetoing the Quality Jobs Act. The main reason for this is that the bill became overbloated with excess spending through tax credits:

The vetoed bill would have spent an estimated $200 million in excess of
Quality Jobs reauthorization, and there were unknown expenses
associated with the legislation that could cost Missourians even more, according to a release from the Governor’s office.

The extra tax credits included the “eminent domain train,” tax breaks for “phantom flights” to Europe and
a provision that would harm many existing Missouri employers by putting
them at a competitive disadvantage, as Show-Me Institute scholars have pointed out. It’s great that the governor sees the harm that some tax credits can do to the economy and the state treasury, but in hopes of calling a special session to slim down the bill, he still misses the point. Lowering taxes across the board and instituting more responsible tax policy is what wlil spur strong economic growth across the board.