If passed, Amendment 4 would pre-emptively ban any attempts to tax services.
Taxpayer Protection Amendment Certified for November Ballot
On Nov. 8, when Missouri small
businesses head to the ballot box, Amendment 4 will appear on the general
election ballot. If passed, this constitutional amendment would ban sales taxes
on services.
While Missouri does not currently
tax services, the idea has been proposed in the last seven Missouri legislative
sessions. Additionally, several other states have either discussed or
implemented new sales taxes on services to close budget holes. Amendment 4
would be a pre-emptive measure protecting Missouri families.
Sales taxes are disproportionately
burdensome on the people who can least afford to pay them, such as senior
citizens, retirees, and those who are disabled and on fixed incomes. Adding a
sales tax for services would only hurt them more, especially because service
taxes can be imposed very broadly. Services that could be taxed include:
- Family services: daycare, tutoring
- Personal services: haircuts, manicures, tattoos, dry
cleaning, car repairs, and funerals - Professional services: banking, accounting,
advertising, and real estate - Healthcare services: physicians, surgeons, nurses,
physical therapists, dentists, eye doctors, and counselors - Home services: construction, plumbing, heating/air
conditioning, installation and repairs, appraisals and inspections, and lawn
care
“A sales tax on service is a
cradle-to-grave tax, because you would pay a tax on the service of the doctor
to deliver the baby and you would pay a tax on the service of the fella that
carves the headstone for the funeral,” Scott Charton, spokesman for Missourians
for Fair Taxation, told St. Louis Public Radio.
Missourians for Fair Taxation is a statewide
coalition that includes NFIB/MO and is advocating for the passage of Amendment
4. To learn more, visit http://motaxpayerprotection.com/.
