'Scoring cheap political points': Missouri Democrats rip Republican proposal to tax groceries but not guns

14 March 2023

When Republicans praise red states for having low tax rates, they often fail to mention some of the regressive taxes that can be found in red states — for example, grocery taxes. Many sales taxes in Democratic areas exclude groceries on the grounds that food is a necessity. So, if one purchases, for example, $45.50 worth of food in a state where groceries are exempt from sales taxes, that's all that would be paid: $45.50.

Missouri is one of the red states where groceries are taxed. Kansas City Star report Kacen Bayless, in an article published on March 8, emphasizes that Missouri — thanks to a Republican-sponsored bill — could end up being the only state in the U.S. that taxes groceries but not gun sales.

"The legislation, sponsored by (Missouri) State Sen. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican, would exempt sales of firearms and ammunition made in Missouri from all state and local sales taxes," Bayless reports. "The Missouri Senate advanced a version of the bill last week that included an amendment that would have eliminated the state's 1.225% sales tax on non-prepared food. But Missouri Senate Republicans this week employed a rare procedural move to strip the provision saying it would've been too expensive."

The Democratic minority in the Missouri State Legislature, Bayless notes, has been quick to attack Brattin's proposal as "another example of Republicans prioritizing guns over a necessity like groceries."

"Missouri, which taxes groceries at a lower rate than its 4.225% sales tax rate, is one of just 13 states that places a tax on food," according to Bayless. "Other states have considered exempting guns from sales taxes, in addition to Missouri. West Virginia, for example, enacted a sales tax exemption for small firearms and ammo in 2021, but that state does not tax food. Five states — Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon — have no sales tax at all."

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas is among the Missouri Democrats criticizing Brattin's proposal.

At a press conference, Lucas told reporters, "I don't think that there's anything in the Missouri legislature right now that is committed to making literally any Missourian safer. It's about scoring cheap political points. There are a lot of stunts going on. There aren't a lot of solutions."

Read the Kansas City Star's full report at this link.

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