By KWMU
St. Louis, MO – A new Missouri General Assembly will begin work this week.
One bill lawmakers might consider would eliminate the state sales tax for any vehicle or boat made in Missouri.
State Representative Harold Selby used to work at the Chrysler plant in Fenton. He says more people would buy boats and vehicles made in Missouri if they could save money on the sales tax.
Selby says that could stop the loss of manufacturing jobs like the 900 workers laid off at Ford last month: "If someone thought 'Well maybe I want to buy eather the Jeep Cherokee or the Ford Explorer but boy I could save quite a bit of money if I buy the Explorer because it's built here,' those folks might not have been laid off."
Selby says he's convinced the income tax collected by employees at motor and boating manufacturing plants would more than make up for the loss of state sales tax revenue.