Missouri’s Tax Administration Practices: Some Ideas For Improvement

Economy | August 12, 2014

By Michael Rathbone and David Stokes | Read Time 1 min

Overall, the three guiding principles in tax policy and tax administration should be simplicity, consistency, and equity. Complexity and inconsistency in administration can cause confusion not only for taxpayers, but also for the people charged with enforcing the state’s rules and regulations.

The government should not favor a particular business, industry, item, or service unless there is a compelling public interest for doing so. When the government tries to pick winners and losers, it tends to pick losers. Free markets, and more specifically, the free people who comprise such markets, should be the ones determining whether a good, service, or business is needed. Government’s obligation is to make sure that the system works, for everybody.

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About the Author

Michael Rathbone

Michael Rathbone was a policy researcher at the Show-Me Institute. He is a native of Saint Louis and a 2008 graduate of Saint Louis University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in biomedical engineering. In 2010, Michael obtained an M.B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis with concentrations in finance and health care management. At the Show-Me Institute, Michaels policy areas included the state budget, taxes, public pensions, and public subsidies. He also delivered lectures to area high school students about the Great Depression from an economic perspective. Michael lives in Fenton.

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About the Author

David Stokes

David Stokes is a St. Louis native and a graduate of Saint Louis University High School and Fairfield (Conn.) University. He spent six years as a political aide at the St. Louis County Council before joining the Show-Me Institute in 2007. Stokes was a policy analyst at the Show-Me Institute from 2007 to 2016. From 2016 through 2020 he was Executive Director of Great Rivers Habitat Alliance, where he led efforts to oppose harmful floodplain developments done with abusive tax subsidies. Stokes rejoined the Institute in early 2021 as the Director of Municipal Policy. He is a past president of the University City Library Board. He served on the St. Louis County 2010 Council Redistricting Commission and was the 2012 representative to the Electoral College from Missouri’s First Congressional District. He lives in University City with his wife and their three children.

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