A state law that took effect last year has resulted in Ste. Genevieve County receiving far less tax revenue back from the state of Missouri. Presiding Commissioner Randy Ruzicka said the 2023 law included language that removed county local sales tax from any business involved in the production of energy in any form, which included the mining industry. The eastern Missouri county relies heavily on mining for tax revenue.
Ruzicka told Missourinet that it’s resulted in a shortfall of $800,000 in revenue, and counting.
“You have a budget, and a budget is a projection of what you think you’re going to get, and then there are the actuals, and the actuals are down significantly,” he said. “So we’ve had to institute some, you know, pretty severe measures to just stop all spending…as much as possible, until we get this rectified.”
Ruzicka said that the county is considering legal action.
“We had our county’s attorney look at it. He feels it’s in violation of the Hancock amendment,” he said. “But the crux of it is that (the state of Missouri doesn’t) have the authority to take away local tax revenue. That’s the bottom line here, but they have by passing this bill.”
The Hancock Amendment to the Missouri Constitution placed spending limits on state government and requires voter approval for any significant tax hikes. Meanwhile, the Sainte Genevieve County Commission voted last week to reinstate taxes on energy production, including mining operations, to make up for the revenue shortfall from the state.
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