A state law that went into effect last year has resulted in Ste. Genevieve County receiving significantly less tax revenue from the state of Missouri. Presiding Commissioner Randy Ruzicka said the language in the law exempts Missouri’s mining industry from taxes and that the eastern Missouri county relies heavily on mining for tax revenue.
He told Missourinet that this has resulted in a revenue shortfall of $800,000 and that the figure continues to rise.
“You have a budget, and a budget is a forecast of what you expect to achieve, and then there are the actual numbers, and they’ve gone down significantly,” he said. “So we’ve had to take some pretty strict measures to stop all spending as much as possible until we fix the problem.”
Ruzicka said the county is considering legal action.
“We’ve hired our county attorney to look into it. He thinks it violates the Hancock Amendment,” he said. “But the point is (the state of Missouri) doesn’t have the authority to take local tax revenue. That’s the key point here, but they do have the authority by passing this law.”
The Hancock Amendment to the Missouri Constitution set spending limits on state government and requires voter approval for any significant tax increase. Meanwhile, the Sainte Genevieve County Commission voted last week to raise taxes on mining there to help offset the state’s revenue shortfall.
Copyright © 2024 · Missourinet
