Missouri Voters to Decide on Constitutional Amendment to End State Income Tax

Missouri Republican legislators have placed a constitutional amendment on the 2026 ballot that would abolish the state personal-income tax. The proposal pairs the tax cut with a provision to expand the state sales tax, and voters will decide in August or November.

The Guardian

The effort mirrors the 2010s Kansas “experiment,” where Governor Sam Brownback’s income-tax cuts produced a $900 million deficit and forced early school-year closures in 2015. Kansas later reversed most cuts. Similar Republican-led tax-cut bills have passed in Georgia, South Carolina and West Virginia, while Florida and Texas operate without a state income tax.

The Guardian

A 2015 National Tax Journal study found marginal tax rates have no measurable effect on employment. Institute on Taxation analysis estimates that replacing income-tax revenue would require a sales-tax increase of $535 per year for households earning $49,000-$80,000. Missouri’s school funding fell from $9,053 in 2003 to $7,869 in 2025.

The Guardian

Governor Mike Kehoe said eliminating the income tax would make Missouri “more competitive, attract jobs and let workers keep what they earn.” Dennis Ganahl said cut would be phased in. Amy Blouin warned it enables sales-tax expansion, and Senator Joe Nicola cautioned would add costs for seniors.

The Guardian

Carl Davis of the Institute on Taxation says promises that earners will spur jobs “do not work” and that income-tax cuts force trade-offs harming services. He warns a sales-tax hike would hit middle-income households. Teachers rallied for school funding, echoing Davis’s view that tax cuts “ratchet down” services like a “frog in boiling water.”

The Guardian

Supporters cite Florida and Texas as models, but the 2015 National Tax Journal analysis finds minimal impact of tax rates on employment. The amendment protects school funding but doesn’t guarantee state funding, and no independent study quantifies the sales-tax increase needed to offset lost revenue.

The Guardian

• “From a public education standpoint, the income tax being removed would be pretty devastating,” — Hannah Rejali, marketing-agency co-owner, Kansas City

The Guardian

• “The claim being made is that those high-income people will grow businesses or create jobs” — Carl Davis, research director, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

The Guardian

• “I said, well, hell, stay in Missouri. I’ll get you zero income tax,” — Dennis Ganahl, founder, Mo Tax Relief Now

The Guardian

• “The only reason for them to have this amendment is to allow for the sales tax to be greatly expanded; otherwise they don’t need it,” — Amy Blouin, president and CEO, Missouri Budget Project

The Guardian

The amendment will appear on the August primary ballot, with a possible November runoff if no clear majority emerges. Both state and national observers will monitor the vote as a test of Republican tax-cut strategies in the Midwest.

The Guardian