The state senate could be moving today to overturn Governor Nixon’s veto a tax bill that he says would be a disaster for the state.
The sponsor of the tax cut bill says the first thing to do is count noses, “make sure all the Republicans are here and I’ll make a motion and we’ll move forward.” And if Senator Will Kraus of Lee’s Summit finds all Republicans are present, he’ll make the motion to enact the bill despite Governor Nixon’s contention that it has wording interpreted by some scholars as devastating to financing of state programs.
Kraus thinks Nixon is trying to scare people. “The fiscal note don’t show that. He also says it will cut education, that’s an assumption that’s not there. This bill protects education. Two year delay that allow us to fully fund education…Those assumptions that we’re going to cut education and those assumptions that this is going to have a huge fiscal note are just false,” he says.
Nixon points to part of the bill that he interprets to mean the state would no longer be able to collect income taxes on people making $9,000 or more and has some experts in tax law and economics backing him up. Republicans have emphasized a letter from a former Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice who says the courts probably would uphold the Republican position.
Republicans cannot afford to have any defections on the override votes. An override takes two-thirds of the elected members, a standard Republicans can meet if none of them accept Nixon’s contention that a veto override will devastate state finances.
