Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications). By JASON HANCOCK and RUDI KELLERMissouri IndependentMissouri's top lawmaker opened the 2023 legislative session Wednesday by proclaiming that the state's massive budget surplus should translate into more tax cuts. House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, noted that Missouri lawmakers approved a nearly $800 million tax cut in September. But with a projected state budget surplus of $6 billion, Plocher believes "there is more room to return money to Missouri taxpayers."While his speech Wednesday to the Missouri House didn't delve into details of any tax cut plan, its inclusion in his opening day address signals the issue's importance to the new speaker. And speaking to reporters later in the day, Plocher said he's open to multiple ideas to reduce the tax burden on Missourians, from income tax cuts to trimming the stales tax to changes in personal property tax.
Missouri's state treasury has a large surplus after 28 months of double-digit revenue growth and federal payments tied to COVID-19 relief and recovery. The extra money should help smooth any economic downturn while also allowing for new spending initiatives.
For the first time in its history, the only real limit on what Missouri can buy on a cash-and-carry basis is the imagination of the people spending the money.