RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Voters in Missouri have pushed back against attempts to formally phase out the state’s individual income tax—a rebuke of the proposals championed by its Republican leadership which marks a break from the ongoing trend of tax reductions across GOP-led states.
On Tuesday, voters overwhelmingly rejected Amendment 5 measures that would have changed the state’s constitution to require a phased elimination of Missouri’s income tax—which currently reaches up to 4.7 percent on its top earners—while giving lawmakers greater authority to increase sales and other taxes to make up for this lost revenue.
They were also voting on Amendment 4, which would have made it harder for citizen-led changes to the state constitution to progress.
Supporters of Amendment 5 argued the change would have made Missouri more competitive and allow families to keep more of their earnings, though opponents believed this would create budgetary issues and amount to an effective tax cut for wealthier residents.
"Amendments 4 and 5 have been buried so deep in citizen rejection, they should never come back," said Scott Charton, a spokesman for two opposition groups, Missourians for Fair Governance and Missourians for Fair Taxation, as quoted in the Missouri Independent.
Missouri’s Republican Governor Mike Kehoe had been one of the main proponents of the amendments, and is a longtime champion of eliminating the state’s income tax. Following the results, however, Kehoe said that this work was "far from over."
Missourians voted against the two amendments by wide margins on Tuesday. Amendment 4 lost 80 percent to 20 percent while Amendment 5 lost 83 to 17 percent, according to The Associated Press. The definitive results leave the state’s existing tax structure in place, while preventing lawmakers from moving ahead with plans to replace income tax revenue through expanded sales taxation.
Missouri takes in over $9 billion per year in individual income taxes, according to the Department of Revenue’s latest annual report, making it the state’s largest single source of revenue. As a result, many groups were skeptical that lawmakers would be able to make up the budgetary gap that would arise from phasing out this particular tax.
"About two-thirds of Missouri's general fund comes from state income tax," according to a fact sheet from Missourians for Fair Taxation. "To replace revenue lost from phasing out the income tax, the largest possible source of new money comes from raising the current sales tax on goods such as your groceries and gas, plus adding a new sales tax on services you use every day, from haircuts to car repairs to health care."
The result marks a significant setback for Kehoe’s tax-reform agenda, though the governor has vowed to keep pursuing tax cuts despite the amendment’s defeat.
"I remain committed to working with the General Assembly in the years ahead on ways to continue cutting taxes, growing our state’s economy, and pursuing conservative policies that help Missouri families keep more of what they earn," he posted to X on Tuesday.
Unlike in most states—where tax changes are enacted by legislators and do not require constitutional amendments—Missouri voters were asked directly to decide on their state’s approach to income taxation.
And as a result of their votes, Missouri remains with the majority of states who continue to heavily rely on income tax to fund government operations and services.
In recent years, however, many Republican-controlled legislatures have enacted major income-tax reductions and reworked their tax codes toward permanently lower levies.
In early July, North Carolina’s Democratic Governor Josh Stein signed a $34 billion budget which, among other things, further slashed income taxes in the state. This put North Carolina on track for a scheduled reduction from 3.99 percent in 2026 to 3.49 percent next year, with subsequent decreases bringing the terminal rate to 2.99 percent from 2033 onward.
And others remain on course for a full phase-out, including Mississippi, South Carolina, Kentucky and West Virginia.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Ben Kelly , Trevor Davies .
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