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A Tax Cut for Struggling Families
February 10, 2010
Jefferson City - Knowing that many families are struggling to pay the bills, we at the Capitol must look for ways to help out. One of the ways to assist is to enact a tax cut, which allows families to keep more of their own money to spend on the items that they need.
Currently, Missouri allows a dependency exemption from state income taxes of $1,200 for each qualified child. I filed legislation, HB 1227, to help them out by raising the state dependency exemption. This bill would increase the exemption to $2,000 for each dependent claimed by a resident. Recently, my bill was given a public hearing in the Committee for Tax Reform. A public hearing is one of the first steps that must be taken to move legislation forward.
Even though the cost of living has greatly increased, this exemption has not been raised for over ten years. At that time, it was also raised by $800. Increasing the amount would put Missouri in line with adjoining states such as Kansas, where the exemption is $2050, and Illinois, where the exemption is $2000. If passed, it would still be significantly below the federal exemption of $3650.
Many families work hard to bring home a paycheck, but still have difficulty paying for all of the things that their children need. This bill would allow families to keep more of their hard-earned money to spend on groceries, school supplies, and children’s clothing.
It is worth noting that no special interests were represented on this bill in any testimony before the Tax Reform Committee. It was simply your representative at the microphone, presenting legislation to help families in these difficult times. I am so fortunate to have been elected to the House of Representatives and have the opportunity to fight for the taxpayer.
State Representative Will Kraus (District 48) can be reached at 573-751-1459 or will.kraus@house.mo.gov.
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