Republicans in the Missouri Senate are pushing to eliminate state and local sales tax on food and groceries.
The current state sales tax on food and groceries is one percent, and local jurisdictions are also allowed to levy additional sales taxes for various purposes.
Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman’s (R-Arnold) bill eliminate would those taxes at both the state and local level.
Empower Missouri Food Security Policy Manager Amanda Berry testified Wednesday that the bill would help make basic necessities more affordable.
“In Missouri right now in this very moment, there are more than 750,000 Missourians living below the federal poverty level and their food budgets are already stretched really thin. Taxes on groceries directly reduces the dollars that they have to purchase food, utilities, transportation and medical care,” Berry said.
But many local officials testified against this bill, saying removing grocery taxes would strip funding from public safety in many rural towns.
Michelle Heiliger is mayor of the Warren County town of Wright City and says this bill and one passed last year which would create additional property tax credits, would indirectly defund her police department.
“Between SB 3 and this bill, we would lose 25 percent of our operating budget," she said. "The only place we can go to make that cut is into the police department, so we would have officers who are operating alone at night.”
Heiliger said if lawmakers wanted to make food more affordable, they should focus on lowering grocery prices, not eliminating sales tax.
While the elimination of state sales taxes would be effective immediately, the local sales tax would be phased out over the next four years.