A constitutional amendment headed to Missouri voters would phase out the state income tax and authorize new sales taxes on services not currently taxed. Here's our full analysis.
The Governor has until mid-May 2026 to decide which ballot the amendment appears on — August primary, November general, or a special election.
A complete walk-through of what HJR 173 does, the math behind the swap, the trade-offs voters face, and what's actually in the amendment text versus what supporters are promising. The clearest place to start if you're new to the issue.
A vivid argument for HJR 173 says income tax is already baked into the price of everything you buy. The economics has a kernel of truth — but the argument leaves out four things that change the conclusion.
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State Rep. Darin Chappell published a specific plan for how HJR 173 would work. Here's the math, the items that would be newly taxed, and what voters need to know about how implementing legislation will likely look different from any single proposal.
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Supporters say switching from income tax to sales tax is a transparency improvement. But ask any Missourian how much income tax they paid last year, and how much sales tax. Rethinking the "transparency" argument with a quick test.
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A technical breakdown of the bill's language, the threat to Hancock Amendment protections, and the shift to a service-based sales tax. The reference piece for readers who want to verify the mechanics.
Read Technical Analysis →Free Download
A two-page reference showing exactly how we calculated the three sales-tax-rate scenarios in our analysis — with starting inputs, sources, step-by-step arithmetic, and disclosed assumptions.
Download PDF ↓Free Download
A one-page quick reference listing goods and services Missourians currently buy without sales tax that would carry the new tax under Rep. Chappell's proposed implementation. Easy to print, share, and discuss.
Download PDF ↓We support eliminating Missouri's income tax. We oppose HJR 173 because it shifts taxes rather than cuts them.
A better path: spending discipline plus economic growth, without expanding the tax base to currently-untaxed services.
Voters approving HJR 173 are approving a constitutional framework — the legislature's authority to expand sales tax. The operative details (which exemptions, what rate, on what timeline) come later in statutes the legislature can modify at any time, without voter approval.
Missouri can do what other no-income-tax states haven't — eliminate the income tax and preserve a low cost of living.
Help fellow Missourians get the full picture before the vote.