By DAVID A. LIEB
Associated Press
March 31, 2014
JEFFERSON CITY • Not long ago, Missouri legislators were clamoring to provide relief to elderly homeowners from rapidly rising property taxes.
Then the housing bubble burst, home values fell in some areas, and so did state revenue. Lawmakers allowed the expiration of a state program that had helped offset local property tax hikes for some seniors and disabled residents.
With the economy improving, some Missouri lawmakers now want to revive that property tax break. But this time, their proposals are being met with indifference — even opposition— from some of their colleagues.
“It’s bad policy — the idea that the state government is going to subsidize a local government because their property taxes are too high,” said Sen. Brad Lager, R-Savannah.
Lager’s opposition to this year’s property tax proposals is particularly notable because he voted to enact the same tax breaks in 2004, when he served in the House. His evolving view of property tax issues reveals how time, term limits and the recent recession have changed the political dynamics at the Missouri Capitol.
Of the 186 Missouri lawmakers who voted to pass the 2004 property-tax-relief legislation, just 15 remain in the Legislature. Term limits have forced many of the rest to leave.
Start the discussion about this subject on Facebook!