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To: Missouri Reporters and Editors
From: Prop A – Let Voters Decide – media team
As you know, the Secretary of State has certified that the Let Voters Decide initiative, dealing with earnings taxes, will be appear on the November state ballot as Proposition A.
Below are answers to some common questions we get about Prop A that we hope you will keep in mind if you write about it in the weeks ahead.
DOES PROPOSITION A REPEAL THE EXISTING EARNINGS TAXES IN ST. LOUIS AND KANSAS CITY?
No. A YES vote on Prop A will simply require local sunset votes on the existing earnings taxes in St. Louis and Kansas City every five years, starting in the spring of 2011. These local votes will let St. Louis and Kansas City voters decide for themselves if they want to continue the e-tax in their city or phase it out. Prop A says that if voters in St. Louis or Kansas City decide not to continue their local earnings tax, it will be phased out gradually over a period of 10 years, at the rate of one-tenth of one percent per year.
DOES PROPOSITION A DO ANYTHING ELSE REGARDING EARNINGS TAXES?
Yes. In addition to giving voters in St. Louis and Kansas City the right to vote on their local earnings taxes in future local elections, Prop A prohibits and new earnings taxes in Missouri.
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE CITY BUDGETS IN ST. LOUIS AND KANSAS CITY ARE DERIVED FROM EARNINGS TAXES?
As documented by University of Missouri-St. Louis economist Dr. William Rogers, the earnings tax accounts for about 15 percent of the total revenues in each city. You can find his study here.
This is significant because opponents of Prop A like to claim that the earnings tax provides 30% or more of the city revenues. They sometimes qualify this by saying 30% of more of the “general fund budget.” We believe this is misleading to voters, since most voters do not know the difference between a city’s total budget and “general fund budget.” We hope that if you use our opponents’ claim, you will add that the earnings tax is about 15% of the total budget in each city, which gives voters a balanced and accurate understanding of the facts.
ARE CITY EARNINGS TAXES COMMON IN THE UNITED STATES?
No. As documented by Dr. William Rogers in the study mentioned above, only 25 of the largest 150 cities in the country have an earnings tax.
WHO ARE THE MEDIA CONTACTS FOR THE YES ON PROP A CAMPAIGN?
The official campaign committee organized to mount the campaign to pass Prop A is the Let Voters Decide committee. The day-to-day press liaison for our committee is Brooke Foster (tel: 636-284-8545). Our primary press spokesperson is Marc Ellinger, a lawyer from Jefferson City (tel: 573-230-1192). The Kansas City area spokesman is Woody Cozad (tel: 816-721-4106). The final member of our press team is Scott Charton (tel: 573-864-9672).
WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFORMATION ON THE INITIATIVE?
A copy of Proposition A and additional information is posted on the Let Voters Decide website at www.LetVotersDecide.com.
Paid for by Let Voters Decide, Stephanie Bell, Treasurer |