🗳️ August Election 101: Amendment 5
This is a longer-than-normal post, but Amendment 5 has a lot to unpack. Because this measure could significantly affect how Missouri funds public services and how residents pay taxes in the future, I think it is worth taking a little more time with it.
As part of the information I prepared for my League of Women Voters presentation, I’m sharing a closer look at each of the statewide ballot measures on the August 4 ballot.
Today’s focus is Amendment 5.
Amendment 5 would require the Missouri legislature to phase out and eliminate the individual state income tax based on revenue growth, while authorizing the expansion of sales and use taxes.
📘 What it is
Amendment 5 would change the Missouri Constitution related to state income taxes, sales taxes, use taxes, and local tax rates.
A “yes” vote would require the legislature to phase out and eventually eliminate the individual state income tax based on revenue growth.
A “no” vote would not require the phase-out or elimination of the individual income tax and would not authorize the expansion of sales and use taxes.
💵 Will taxes go up?
The official ballot language says the impact on taxes is unknown.
The amendment itself does not immediately raise or lower state or local tax revenue. However, if passed, future legislation to implement it could change what Missourians pay and how they pay it.
🔁 What could change?
Amendment 5 is not just about lowering income taxes. It is about whether Missouri should shift more of its tax structure from income-based taxes to sales/use taxes on purchases and services.
The full amendment text says sales and use taxes may be expanded to transactions involving any goods and services for the purpose of reducing and eliminating the state individual income tax and reducing local tax rates.
That means Missouri could rely less on taxes based on income and more on taxes paid when people buy goods and services.
🧭 What would voters be deciding now?
Amendment 5 does not immediately set a new sales tax rate or list every good or service that could become taxable.
Instead, voters would be deciding whether to change the Missouri Constitution to allow future legislation that phases out the individual income tax and expands sales/use taxes to replace that revenue.
That means many of the practical details, including what goods or services could become taxable and how the tax shift would be implemented, would be decided later by lawmakers.
🏛️ Why does this matter?
Missouri’s individual income tax provides a large share of the state’s general revenue. That revenue helps fund public services such as education, health care, Medicaid, disability services, senior services, transportation, infrastructure, and other state priorities.
States without individual income taxes still have to fund their budgets. They may rely more heavily on other sources, such as sales taxes, property taxes, tourism-related taxes, natural resource revenue, business taxes, or other fees.
For example, states often named in these conversations, such as Texas and Florida, do not have individual income taxes, but they use other revenue sources and have different economies, populations, industries, tourism bases, property tax structures, and cost pressures than Missouri.
That does not automatically make one approach right or wrong. It does mean voters may want to look beyond the phrase “eliminate the income tax” and ask what replaces that revenue.
🧾 What campaign messaging may leave out
It can be easy to hear “eliminate the income tax” and think only about paying less.
But Amendment 5 is also about what replaces that revenue.
If income tax revenue is reduced or eliminated, Missouri would need to replace that money, reduce spending, or use some combination of both.
That could mean expanding sales/use taxes to more goods and services, increasing reliance on other taxes or fees, reducing public services, or making other budget changes.
Supporters argue that eliminating the income tax could make Missouri more competitive and allow residents to keep more of what they earn.
The question voters may want to ask is: what happens next, and who carries the burden?
🧮 A simple example
Imagine two Missouri residents:
👩🏫 A school teacher earning $40,000 per year
👨💼 An accountant earning $125,000 per year
If the individual income tax is phased out, both may pay less in state income tax.
But if Missouri replaces that revenue by expanding sales and use taxes, each person could pay more when buying goods and services.
Sales taxes are based on what people buy, not what they earn. That matters because lower- and middle-income households often spend a larger share of their income on everyday needs.
So while a higher-income person may pay more dollars overall, a lower- or middle-income person may feel a larger impact as a share of their household budget.
That is one of the biggest questions voters may want to consider: Who benefits most from eliminating the income tax, and who could be most affected by expanded sales and use taxes?
Arguments supporters make:
✅ Could make Missouri more competitive with states that do not have an individual income tax
✅ Would phase out income tax gradually based on revenue growth
✅ Could allow residents to keep more of their earned income
✅ Includes language requiring local tax rate cuts if local sales tax revenue increases
✅ Says school funding cannot be reduced as part of those local tax rate cuts
Arguments opponents make:
⚠️ The official tax impact is unknown
⚠️ Sales and use taxes could be expanded to more goods and services
⚠️ Lower- and middle-income residents may pay a larger share of their income through sales taxes
⚠️ Many of the practical details would be decided later by lawmakers
⚠️ Older adults, active-duty military members, and others with income already exempt from state income tax may see little benefit from income tax elimination but could pay more in sales taxes
⚠️ If replacement revenue does not fully cover the loss of income tax revenue, public services could face pressure
Questions to consider:
🔎 Do you support eliminating Missouri’s individual state income tax if it means expanding sales and use taxes?
🔎 Are you comfortable approving the framework now, knowing many implementation details would be decided later by future legislators?
🔎 Should voters have another say before major changes are made to what goods and services are taxed?
🔎 What goods or services could become taxable in the future, and how would that affect your household?
🔎 If income tax revenue is reduced, how confident are you that replacement revenue will be enough to protect public services?
🔎 Is Missouri’s economy similar enough to no-income-tax states for that model to work here?
🔎 Who benefits most from eliminating the income tax, and who could be most affected by expanded sales and use taxes?
🔎 If Amendment 5 passes, do you trust future lawmakers to replace the lost revenue in a way that is fair to lower-income, middle-income, fixed-income, and working families?
As with every ballot measure, I encourage you to read the full language for yourself. Ballot questions can sound simple at first, but the details matter.
🔗 Full Amendment 5 text:
🔗 Missouri Secretary of State ballot measures page:
This is not a recommendation on how to vote. My goal is simply to help residents have clear, factual information as they prepare to cast their ballots.
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