Missouri voters will weigh in on four amendments to the Missouri state constitution in the Aug. 4 election. All four amendments require a simple majority to pass. Here is The Call’s wrap-up on what voters can expect to see on their ballots.
On Amendment 1, voters will vote yes or no to continue a sales/use tax for the next 10 years. It is a one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) sales/use tax that helps fund soil and water conservation in state parks and historic sites. The existing tax generates approximately $140 million every year — if voters vote yes on this amendment, the state could continue collecting those tax dollars for the next 10 years, when voters will be able to vote again.
Voters will also decide whether Jackson County will be required to have an elected county assessor with Amendment 2. Currently, Jackson County is the only charter county in Missouri that is not required by the constitution to elect its assessor. If implemented, the assessor would become an elected position in all charter counties, and all county assessors would have to comply with training requirements established by general law.
Amendment 4, if passed, would modify the current requirements for how citizen-initiated constitutional amendments are approved. Currently, a simple majority across the state is required to pass citizen-initiated amendments to the constitution; if voters vote yes on Amendment 4, each of Missouri’s eight congressional districts would need a simple majority vote to pass those amendments.
With Amendment 5, voters can vote to reduce individual state income tax based on revenue growth until the tax is eliminated. Once the tax is eliminated, it would prohibit future state income taxes. Sales and use taxes could be expanded. This amendment would also require local cuts to the tax rate, “without reducing school funding if local sales tax revenue increases.” According to ballot language, there is an unknown impact to state and local tax revenue.
Revenue from individual income tax made up 63% of Missouri’s general revenue in fiscal year 2025. Missouri currently has a graduated income tax with rates ranging from 2% to 4.7%. The state sales tax is 4.225%.
This amendment has been the hot button issue of this election. State Rep. Bishop Davidson (R-130), who sponsored the amendment, said on April 21, “[The income tax] has killed the source of wealth for Missouri’s middle class. It has made the American Dream an American memory and even that is fading out of view.”
Meanwhile, State Rep. Ashley Aune (D-14) spoke in opposition of the amendment on April 21, saying, “Where are we going to get that revenue? We’re going to get that revenue off the backs of Missourians who are living paycheck to paycheck, seniors who already can’t afford their medications or to stay in their homes.”
