Should You Pay the Earnings Tax in Wildwood?
At a mayoral candidate forum last week hosted by the St. Louis Business-Journal, the topic of the St. Louis earnings...
St. Louis City’s Earnings Tax Is Not the Lowest in the Country
The earnings tax was one topic of conversation during a recent forum for St. Louis mayoral candidates. During the forum,...
Some St. Louis School Districts Are Responding to Parents
Apparently, parents like options, and school districts like keeping students. What a concept. This past year has forced public school...
Return of the Resource Curse: The Trouble That Comes from Too Much Money
Versions of this commentary appeared in the American Spectator and the Columbia Missourian. Imagine painting yourself into a corner—as someone...
Will Boonville Repeat the Mistakes of St. Louis and Kansas City?
A version of this commentary was published in the Columbia Tribune. Tax-increment financing (TIF) is Missouri’s bad idea that refuses...
We’re Already Seeing the Effects of Delivery Fee Regulation
Months ago, I wrote about the new St. Louis City cap on delivery fees that food delivery services can charge...
CID Dies
I don’t know what the City of Chesterfield is thinking by rejecting the recent community improvement district (CID) proposal for...
Kansas City and St. Louis Receive D’s in Fiscal Health
Kansas City and St. Louis City ranked poorly in Truth in Accounting’s Financial State of the Cities 2021 report, meaning...
Taxable Sales Down in Many St. Louis Areas
Most of us know that when you shop, the price on the tag is not the price you pay at...
It Is Time to Change How We Collect Sales Taxes in Missouri
Comprehensive online sales tax collections in Missouri are likely inevitable. Because of the ongoing pandemic, they are also necessary. Covid...
MSA Growth in Missouri
The start of a new year is a great time to reflect on the past and make resolutions for the...
Unfocused St. Louis
Some of my colleagues at the Institute have already weighed in on the shortcomings of a draft report promoting regional...
New Report on Federal Relief Funds in Missouri
Are Missouri politicians the rare breed that don’t spend money when it’s handed to them . . . or are...
The Plan Without a Plan
Greater St. Louis, Inc. recently came out with a draft of its STL 2030 Jobs Plan, which is described as...
We Need Actions, Not Words
Greater St. Louis Inc. has just released the results of its year of discussions with community members about how to...
Multnomah County, Oregon Should’ve Called St. Louis Before Making This Mistake
Multnomah County, Oregon, which contains the city of Portland, recently approved a local income tax increase to fund tuition-free preschool....
Fixing the “Delmar Divide” with a TIF?
Developers are asking for millions in tax subsidies for a redevelopment project with the hopes of fixing St. Louis’s “Delmar...
The Burden of Special Taxing Districts
I recently wrote about Chesterfield’s plans to hike taxes during a pandemic. It looks like more tax increases could be...
How Many Chances Does TIF Get?
There are so many problems with the City of St. Louis’s tax-increment financing (TIF) program that it would make your...
St. Louis Is Shrinking. Let’s Reverse the Trend
The headline “St. Louis is America’s fastest-shrinking city” should set off alarm bells for St. Louis lawmakers and citizens. It’s...
