By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A state senator proposes dropping the Missouri state income tax on Social Security benefits.
Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer says very few states still take a bite out of Social Security checks.
“So the other 39 states have eliminated the state-level income tax on Social Security benefits,” Luetkemeyer tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “And Missouri is one of only 11 states that still taxes Social Security.”
Luetkemeyer adds that the state taxes gross income, so it can be argued that the state is double-dipping when it taxes Social Security benefits.
Luetkemeyer, a Republican from Parkville who represents Platte and Buchanan Counties in the Senate, says Senate staff has yet to determine what the elimination would cost the state, but it doesn’t much matter to him what that determination is.
“For my purposes, no,” Luetkemeyer says. “If 39 other states have figured out how to not double tax our seniors, I think Missouri can figure out how to do that and live within our budget.”
Luetkemeyer sees his measure as a continuation of the tax cuts approved in the last legislative session.
“My view as a Republican, as a conservative, when we have excess money and we have good revenue, as we have experienced at the state level, rather than spending it on more government programs, more government spending, the better thing to do is to put that money back into the pocket of taxpayers and people who are working hard.”
Luetkemeyer’s measure has a long way to go. It first must be reviewed by a Senate committee. If the committee approves it, it then goes to the full Senate for debate.