Tax cut battle continues in Missouri

And cracks in the effort to over-rule Nixon appear to be growing.

Rep. Don Phillips, a Kimberling City Republican who was absent for the original vote on the bill during the session, has set his outgoing message for his Capitol office phone line to tell callers that he plans to vote against the override attempt.

Rep. Mike Thomson, R-Maryville, told KMA radio earlier this week that he also thinks Nixon's veto should stand. He originally voted for the bill.

That comes on top of earlier reports that Reps. Nate Walker, R-Kirksville, and Jeff Grisamore, R-Lee’s Summit, are leaning against the override vote. Both voted in favor of the tax bill during the session. At least two of the three Democrats who originally voted in favor of the bill will be siding with Nixon.

The supporters of the tax cut bill need 109 votes in the House to override the governor’s veto. There are exactly 109 Republicans in the chamber.

House Speaker Tim Jones, R-Eureka, called in to FM NewsTalk 97.1 on Thursday and explained the uphill battle that he faces trying to get enough votes.

“The education establishment is coming down hard on my colleagues,” he said. “It’s unreal – the pressure being put on us.”

Carter Ward, executive director of the Missouri School Boards’ Association, released a statement today on the House Republican caucus meetings taking place over the weekend. “We believe the effort to prevent the override of the veto is gaining strong momentum and we encourage House members to oppose an attempt to override the veto in September,” he said.

Nixon, a Democrat, has spent much of the summer campaigning against the override – making dozens of stops across the state to get support and highlight areas of the bill that he says are flawed. According to Nixon, the legislation will actually raise taxes on prescription drugs and textbooks.

He didn’t dwell on the tax bill fight during a speech at the governor's ham breakfast at the Missouri State Fair this week, but, when asked about it after, Nixon again noted the impact the legislation could have. He said it threatens the state’s triple-A bond rating and if Congress passes the Marketplace Fairness Act, then it will create a hole in the budget because people will be able to retroactively claim refunds.

“I’ve said it time and time again, I’m willing to sit down with folks and talk about long-term issues in that area,” Nixon said. “This is just not the way to do it. It has got a lot of flaws in a lot of areas … I remain hopeful that the Legislature will see that this is not the right way to do it, and we’ll be able to get back in January and talk about what we want to do long-term.”

Jones has asked Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster to give an official legal opinion on the bill and determine whether Nixon’s claims – particularly the one on retroactivity of the bill - are accurate.

Asked about Jones’ request, Nixon said he is confident that his assessment is correct.

“The law is very clear,” he said, noting that tax laws are to be interpreted to favor the taxpayer.

Nixon also struck back at Jones, characterizing the House speaker’s take on the legislation’s impact as anti-taxpayer and pro-government.

“The retroactivity piece is the part that protects taxpayers,” he said. “It’s very interesting that the speaker’s theory is that we want to analyze to the benefit of the government. That’s not the law.”

“If you’re walking right into a caucus meeting and your last public act is to lawyer up — well, let’s just leave it at that,” Nixon added.

The tax cut legislation is House Bill 253.