Patrick Wroblewski For the 72nd

AMENDMENT 5 - 

Missouri Amendment 5 is a proposed constitutional amendment that directs lawmakers to incrementally eliminate the state individual income tax.  To make up for the billions of lost revenue, it would allow state legislatures to broadly expand sales and use taxes to include a tax on services and transactions, and raise the sales tax rate.

 

I would bet on if I called all of my friends in Missouri and asked if they wanted to NEVER pay state income tax again, they all would all say YES.  I don’t want to pay a state income tax either! 

 

But, you have to ask yourself… what’s the catch?  If I had been paying someone 4%+ of my income my ENTIRE LIFE and then they told me I didn’t have to anymore, I would wonder if they found some sunken pirate treasure.

 

Well, to my knowledge, Missouri has never had much pirate activity, so where will they make up for the massive lack of revenue?

 

This got me thinking… what states do not have a state income tax and how do they do it?

 

Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming

 

Without diving deep into a state budget rabbit hole, I think about and research what revenue streams these states have that Missouri doesn’t.

 

Alaska- Severance Tax (Oil)

Florida - Tourism/High Tourism Taxes

Nevada - Gaming Taxes/Commerce Taxes

New Hampshire - Taxes interest and dividends/High Tax on specific services

S. Dakota - High Sales Tax/Tax on services

Tennessee- High Sales Tax

Texas - Severance Tax (Oil/Gas)

Washington - Capital Gains Tax/Tax on services

Wyoming - Severance Tax (Oil/Gas/Coal)

 

Well, we have very limited oil/coal/gas production, the state has already done away with the capital gains tax, and we already tax interest and dividends, so that leaves us with tourism and sales tax.  Unless Silver Dollar City has been pulling in some massive numbers I’m unaware of, our state unfortunately doesn’t compete with the likes of some others.

 

What’s left?  Hiking sales/use tax and/or placing a tax on services.

 

Currently, in STL, KC, and some specialized districts, sales tax can reach over 10%.  Imagine if that jumped to 15%, or up to 20+%!

If it was a slow hike, you may not feel the impact immediately, but it’s there and it will be growing.  No state income tax sounds fantastic and could entice some folks to move to Missouri, but would it hurt us more than help us?  That potential 5-10+% would definitely add up over the year.  How badly would that affect a family struggling to make ends meet?  Our seniors on fixed incomes?

 

Now imagine a tax on services…  Your babysitter is now required by the state to tax you.  A haircut jumps from $40 to $45.  You could pay a tax on your RENT.  Your A/C or heat goes out and you are forced to call the HVAC company.  Those bills are never cheap!  Well, now they are taxing you on the labor they perform because that is a service.  That bill just increased drastically.  The same at the mechanic.  Often the largest portion of that bill is the labor charge.  Now the labor portion could be subject to a tax.  It seams crazy, but it could be possible.

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What would that do to someone aspiring to start their own small service business?  With everything that goes with starting a business, now they have to charge a service tax and pay the state monthly if they collect $500 or more in these service taxes.  This adds another hurdle in the pool of red tape you're already swimming in to get your small business up and running.  Would this amendment deter a young entrepreneur from pursuing the American dream?  

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Some other very important factors to consider are that this amendment gives Jefferson City lawmakers unlimited power to raise these taxes WITHOUT a vote of the people.  This is NOT what we are used to.  In 2016 our Missouri constitution was amended to PROHIBIT state and local governments from enacting new sales or use taxes on goods AND services without a passing vote of the people.  This amendment strips the power to raise/enact new taxes away from the voters and leaves it in the hands of lawmakers.  This is something I cannot stand behind.

 

As I have always done on the Overland City Council is try to see the issue from every point of view.  Who is this going to help, who will be negatively impacted?  There is ALWAYS a give and take. What is best for the folks that have elected me to represent them?  From my extensive research on the issue and attending countless informational events on the matter, this amendment would greatly benefit the top 20% of earners in Missouri and further place the tax burden on our middle class, our seniors on a fixed income, and folks living paycheck to paycheck.

 

I cannot support this amendment. 

 

 Please take the time to think this important measure over and do your research.

 

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AMENDMENT 4 - 

Missouri Amendment 4 is a proposed constitutional amendment that aims to require voter approval of citizen-initiated constitutional amendments in each congressional district, rather than statewide, add language prohibiting foreign nationals and foreign adversaries from spending to support or oppose ballot measures, with penalties for violations, and add language regarding penalties for ballot initiative signature petition fraud, among other changes.

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Before I begin, I must say that the best super short explanation of Amendment 4 I have heard so far is as follows:

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"Let's say 8 neighbors in the same HOA vote on allowing Christmas lights.  7 say yes, 1 says no.  No Christmas lights for anyone."

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The 8 neighbors represent the 8 congressional districts within Missouri.  If just one of those districts does not vote 50%+1 in favor, a measure will fail.

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I am excited and upset about dissecting this one.   Why upset?  Because look at what has been thrown in this amendment - “add language prohibiting foreign nationals and foreign adversaries from spending to support or oppose ballot measures”

 

Who wants foreign adversaries influencing our elections?  I don’t know anyone who would want that.  Do you?  Just another attempt to sway votes in favor of what I feel is a NO brainer.

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IMPORTANT FACT - It is already illegal for foreign adversaries to contribute to ballot measure campaigns (SB 152 - 2025).

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This amendment basically strips more power away from the people of Missouri.  It is as simple as that.

 

CURRENTLY in Missouri, citizen-initiated constitutional amendments may be approved by voters with 50+% of the vote.

 

What does that mean?  

 

Everyday Missourians (NOT just elected officials) can band together to propose laws, amend the Missouri constitution or repeal legislation by placing measures on the ballot for public vote.  If you get a majority of self-serving folks in office and they start passing laws that are harmful to the people, we can band together and repeal them.  OR if elected officials fail to take actions that benefit the people, we can band together to enact our own laws. Sounds like Democracy to me!  This sounds like America.  

 

Now, if Amendment 4 passes on AUG 4 this would not just require 50% of the vote of the people, it would require 50+% approval in all eight congressional districts as well.  IF JUST ONE OF EIGHT DISTRICTS FAIL TO GET 50+%, The whole thing is shot.

 

Example, in 2022 the people of Missouri (not politicians) placed Amendment 3 on the ballot to legalize recreational marijuana. Feel how you will about this issue, but voters approved it with 53% support statewide. If Amendment 4 had been enacted at the time, this measure would have failed because it did not receive 50% of the vote in every congressional district, especially in rural districts 7 and 8.  This can go for any ballot measure.

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If this standard is to be upheld for measures ONLY brought to the ballot by the people, why shouldn't it be applied for everything else we vote on?

 

This section of the Missouri Constitution really resonates with me:  “That all political power is vested in and derived from the people; that all government of right originates from the people, is founded on their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole.”

 

I think I am going to print that out, frame it, and put it on my wall.

 

Amendment 4 is unfair because it violates the basic rule of democracy: majority wins.

 

Missouri is one state. If a ballot measure wins the most votes statewide, it should pass, no matter which part of the state the votes come from.

 

Amendment 4 would raise the approval requirement significantly, making it much more difficult for citizen-initiated constitutional amendments to pass. Individuals and groups may be less willing to invest the substantial time and money required to place measures on the ballot, knowing the chances of success would be far lower.

 

The power originates with and belongs to the people, not the government.

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 Please take the time to think this important measure over and do your research. ​

 

AMENDMENT 2 - 
 

Missouri Amendment 2 is a proposed constitutional amendment that aims to delete language from the Missouri Constitution that exempts charter counties with populations between 600,001 and 699,999 from having an elected assessor. As of 2025, there is one charter county within this population range, Jackson County.  Therefore, Amendment 2 would require the Jackson County Assessor to be an elected position. All other Missouri counties are already required to elect their assessors.

Amendment 2 would also require, in the Missouri Constitution, that all county assessors comply with any training provisions established by general law.

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Do you feel that Jackson County should also be required to elect their County Assessor like the rest of the state and ALL assessors within Missouri should comply with training provisions established by law?

 

You may wonder what a County Assessor actually does and doesn’t do.  Here is a basic breakdown…

 

The St. Louis County Assessor and their staff determine the value of homes and properties. 

They do not set tax rates, send tax bills, or collect taxes. 

Those tasks are handled by local taxing districts (like schools and fire departments) and the St. Louis County Revenue Department.

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Important to note: Jackson County voters already approved switching to an elected assessor at the county level in November 2025 (88% support), with elections planned for 2028. Amendment 2 would lock this into the state constitution.

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AMENDMENT 1 - 

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Missouri Amendment 1 aims to continue for 10 years the one-tenth of one percent sales/use tax that is used for soil and water conservation and for state parks and historic sites, and to resubmit this tax to voters for approval in 10 years.

The measure allows continued collection of the existing sales and use tax, which generates revenue of approximately $140 million annually.

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According to Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources, about half of the money from this tax goes to protecting soil and water in the state. The other half of the revenue goes to Missouri state parks and historic sites. 

So far, the tax has raised over $772 million.

 

This tax started with a 1984 constitutional amendment. Because of how it was written, voters must renew it every 10 years. It automatically appears on the ballot for a vote.

 

Missouri state parks get about 75% of their funding from this tax. If voters don’t renew it, the state will have to pay for parks out of the general budget instead. That means less money available for schools, healthcare, and public safety.

Voting no would give Missourians a small amount of tax relief, but it would hurt funding for our state parks, historic sites, and other important state services.