This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Aug. 27, 2013: With the Missouri General Assembly’s veto session just over two weeks away, both sides in the battle over the tax-cut bill – HB253 – have shifted the debate.
Instead of arguing over whether the bill -- vetoed by Gov. Jay Nixon -- will help or hurt state’s economy, the debate now seems to center on whether it’s good or bad for Missouri to emulate Texas.
The catalyst for this shift is Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who is scheduled to visit the region on Thursday. GOP supporters had hoped that Perry's visit would help build momentum in support of a veto override of HB253 when the General Assembly goes into session Sept. 11. Although it's too soon to know the ultimate outcome, the ground swell Perry was supposed to ignite may now be in danger of fizzling.
Why? Perry’s planning to lobby area businesses to consider setting up shop in Texas.
Perry's spokeswoman confirmed that a number of top area firms have been invited to a private reception here with the Texas governor. Perry's expenses are being paid for by TexasOne, a consortium focused on promoting economic growth by attracting more businesses to Texas.
TexasOne also is running TV and radio ads with Perry that generally promote Texas as pro-business. Radio station KTRS (550 AM) made news Friday when it announced that it was pulling the spots because they focused on wooing Missouri businesses to Texas – not whether Missouri should cut its taxes.
Perry is headlining a public event Thursday night in Chesterfield that is organized by various Missouri groups that want the General Assembly to overturn Nixon’s veto of HB253. Perry is slated to talk primarily about what works in Texas, but he now has endorsed the override effort – a move that appears to intertwine the tax-cut issue with a separate debate over income taxes.
Texas does not have an income tax. Getting rid of Missouri’s income tax and replacing it with a higher sales tax also are the goals of Rex Sinquefield, the wealthy financier who is bankrolling the TV and radio ad campaign that HB253’s supporters are conducting. (Sinquefield scuttled an earlier plan to get on the 2012 ballot a proposal to make the income-tax-to-sales-tax switch.)
Update) In a letter to the Missouri Chamber of Commerce this week, Nixon, a Democrat, criticized its involvement in the visit because, he says, it would signal support of "Gov. Perry's misleading campaign to smear our state in an attempt to hurt our economy and our businesses."
The governor earlier had countered with a list of other taxes that are higher in Texas than in Missouri. They include property taxes, sales taxes, fuel taxes and the cigarette tax.
Nixon cited Missouri’s slightly higher credit rating, as well as its higher ranking in the Tax Foundation’s list of the top pro-business states. The governor also pointed to higher test scores and graduation rates among Missouri high school students.
The debate over Texas comes as Republican legislative leaders are still trying to round up the 109 votes in the state House needed to override Nixon's veto of HB253.
Although they're not discussing what transpired during the recent GOP caucus in St. Louis to discuss possible overrides, several attendees have said privately that Republicans still are a few votes short. Estimates of the shortfall have ranged from two to 10 votes.
Chamber defends Perry's visit, aims
Republicans contended over the weekend that Nixon and the Democrats were trying to distract politicians and the public from the real issues surrounding HB253. Democrats countered at a gathering Saturday in Jefferson City that the shift in focus was the fault of the tax-cut bill’s supporters, since it was their idea to bring in Perry.
A spokeswoman for the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industrycontended that it was the Democrats who are mischaracterizing Perry’s visit. “Gov. Perry is doing what governors are supposed to do, market their state,” the chamber said in a statement.
“His visit to Missouri is one of six trips he has made to other states doing the same thing. While he is in Missouri he will be speaking to Missouri Chamber members about the things that have helped Texas grow: low taxes, low regulation and positive legal climate. Our members are interested in listening because we want the same for our state.”
Democrats and Nixon are banking that the public will disagree, when they find out about Texas’ other higher taxes.
Nixon argued in his letter that the chamber"should support activities that seek to strengthen our economy -- not undermine it."
Dave Robertson, a political science professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said that Perry’s involvement does appear to have produced some unintended consequences.
Robertson said that backers of HB253 may have been engaging in “wishful thinking’’ when they thought that Perry could help them create momentum to sway politicians to override HB253.
“Gov. Perry is an independent bucking bronc,’’ Robertson said, adding that Perry is primarily focused on his own state and his own political future.
“This is one of those things where the message that Perry wants to deliver (attracting businesses to Texas) certainly is swamping any persuasion that he would be able to have with HB253,” Robertson said.
“What I think is having as much impact are complaints that Republicans have been hearing” from local school districts and some local business groups who have come out against the override – including the Chambers of Commerce in several communities, including Springfield and Columbia.
But Perry’s presence won’t help, Robertson added. “No matter what he says about HB253, the (pro-Texas) ads are going to be the central question asked by reporters, and the central issue covered.”
