On April 2, 2024, Jackson County voters will be asked to approve a new 3/8 percent sales tax to support improvements to “funding for park improvements consisting of Arrowhead Stadium and its surrounds, and a new Major League Baseball stadium in Jackson County.”
Proponents present this as an extension of that tax and not a new tax.
They are wrong. It is a new tax.
First, think of this logically. If the county legislature did not act—or if the voters reject the measure—the current sales tax would expire on September 30, 2031. The legislature is seeking voter approval exactly because this is a new legislative action to impose a new tax.
Second, let’s examine the original tax approved by voters in 2006. The legislation does not contemplate an extension. It does not set up any mechanism by which the tax could be extended. It simply imposes the tax and states that it will expire after 25 years.
Third, the legislative language Jackson County voters are being asked to approve this time around would sunset the existing tax (the original tax would end—the two taxes would not run concurrently) and explicitly states this is a new tax. Per Section 2: “Subject to the approval of the voters of the County, the new levy will begin upon the date first imposed and continue for a term of 40 years . . . ” (emphasis added)
Even the title of the ordinance confirms that we are being asked to impose a new tax:
AN ORDINANCE submitting to the qualified voters of Jackson County, Missouri, at a special election to be held on April 2, 2024, a question authorizing Jackson County to impose a countywide sales tax of three-eighths of one percent for a period of forty years for the purpose of retaining the Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs sports teams in Jackson County, Missouri. (emphasis added)
Perhaps supporters of the measure believe that voters are more likely to extend a tax than they are to vote on a new tax. But that is a political concern. Their claim is campaign messaging, not the facts of the measure on the ballot.
Journalists covering this issue should resist parroting talking points and stick to the basic facts: Jackson County residents are being asked to impose a new levy on themselves. It’s that simple.
