Two Short Videos on Property Taxation in Missouri

Posted on by David Stokes

Property Tax Districts: What Are You Paying For?

In this video, Show-Me Institute Policy Analyst David Stokes gives a nearly comprehensive list of the types of property taxes that exist in Missouri, and what those property taxes support. Many different facilities and services are funded by dedicated property tax districts which often have geographic boundaries independent of the usual city, town, or county boundaries.

 

Streetlights in This Neighborhood Are Funded With Property Taxes

In this video, Show-Me Institute Policy Analyst David Stokes explains the Elmwood Park Streetlight District. Missouri law permits the creation of independent property tax districts for the purpose of installing and maintaining streetlights in a certain area. The people of Elmwood Park did just that.

 

Both of these videos are excerpts from a larger look at property taxation in Missouri.

The State Constitutional Question: Are the Aerotropolis Tax Credits Even Legal?

Posted on by Patrick Ishmael

It’s a question that now is cropping up among some who have looked closely at the Aerotropolis legislation. Ron Calzone was on Jamie Allman’s show (97.1 in St. Louis) yesterday and talked at length about the issue, citing specific sections of the Missouri Constitution in support of his position. Segment is below:


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To Calzone, the context behind Missouri’s Constitutional language is of particular interest with the Aerotropolis bill, and he says the state’s concerns about the subsidization of railroads in the 1800s were a motivating factor behind how the text of the state’s Constitution was drafted. Calzone questions the constitutionality of the Aerotropolis tax credits because he says the legislature would be exceeding its authority in granting the credits. He notes explicitly these sections of the Constitution in support of his argument: Article I, Section 2; Article III, Section 36; Article III, Section 38(a); Article III, Section 39; and Article III, Section 40.

The state Constitutional argument seems to be gaining steam, too; Missouri Sen. Jim Lembke (R-Dist. 1) spoke on the floor of the Senate yesterday about the Constitutional problems with the state government picking winners and losers. (You can find the full text of the Missouri Constitution here.)

I’ll be checking out the case law and may follow this post up with an exploration of any court cases that may have dealt with these sections of the Constitution. In the meantime, I invite our readers to check out the Constitution themselves, using the links above, and leave your thoughts in the comments. Should be a very interesting conversation.

Property Tax Rates Being Set Across Missouri

Posted on by David Stokes

This is the time of year when a multitude of local elected officials across Missouri are setting property tax rates. Because 2011 was a resassessment year, those rates are generally changing. (In non-reassessment years, the rates generally don’t change or change only slightly unless voters have approved a tax increase.) Cities, counties, school boards, fire districts, library districts, and many other types of tax authorities will be setting their rates this month. The new reassessment that property owners received earlier this year will be combined with the new tax rates to result in the bill property owners will receive in late October/early November and must pay by Dec. 31.

Just in time for this process, the Show-Me Institute has released a series of pieces on property taxation. We have a new policy study that details exactly how property taxes are implemented in Missouri, including a literature review considering the economics of property taxation and the ideas of Charles Tiebout.

There is a case study that details the manner in which public services and property taxes are capitalized into housing prices in Richmond Heights, Mo. We have two videos: one describing the myriad of tax districts that implement property taxes in Missouri, from the common to the little-known, and one which also focuses on Richmond Heights.

The policy and case studies share the briefing paper, and there is an op-ed that has already run in the Saint Louis Beacon on this topic. These pieces were all written by Christine Harbin and myself. Josh Smith helped out with the research and the videos. A number of interns helped out as well, and proud we are of all of them. If you are interested in the questions and debates that involve property taxation, we hope you find these studies and videos interesting.

Will the Missouri House “Ram” $300 Million of Aerotropolis Cash Back Into the Bill?

Posted on by Patrick Ishmael

As Yogi Berra says, “It ain’t over til it’s over!” Via KMOX, (Emphasis mine)

Republicans are scaling back a plan offering tax breaks to spur international trade at the St. Louis airport. But it isn’t over yet.

KMOX Jefferson City Bureau Chief Phil Brooks says House leadership is expected to try to re-insert the $300 million cut by the Senate and then attempt to ram the bill through the Senate.

More undoubtedly to come. Stay tuned.

Senate Removes $300 Million in Warehouse Construction Tax Credits From Aerotropolis Bill

Posted on by Audrey Spalding

Missouri Sen. Rob Mayer (R-Dist. 25) announced today that $300 million in tax credits for the construction of warehouses had been removed from the Aerotropolis legislation, part of a contentious economic development bill that the Missouri Legislature is considering in a special session.

Regular Show-Me Daily readers are, I am sure, nearly sick of hearing about Patrick Ishmael’s and my questions regarding that $300 million.

We wondered: Why was the state considering subsidizing warehouse construction in the St. Louis area if there was more than 18 million square feet in vacant warehouse space already available? Why did versions of the legislation give the mayor of St. Louis City and area county executives the power to restrict who could receive hundreds of millions in tax benefits? Why were the construction tax credits limited to individuals and companies who owned more than 100 acres of land? Where was a substantive cost-benefit analysis?

We would have stopped asking those questions if someone had provided substantive answers. And yet, there really were none.

It is brazen to ask for $300 million, in the public or private sector, without substantive evidence that the money is necessary and would be put to good, productive use. As such, the removal of warehouse and facility construction tax credits from the legislation is good news for Missouri taxpayers.

But, things could easily change. There is a chance that the $300 million could be reinserted at the last moment. CBS reports that the Missouri House may attempt to re-insert construction tax credits in the legislation and “ram the bill through the Senate.”

So, perhaps, this may be more about politics than good policy. I hope that isn’t the case.

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