Missouri Voters Reject Income Tax Phase-out and Amendment Limits

Amendment 5, which sought to eliminate the income tax—currently up to 4.7 percent on top earners—while allowing lawmakers to raise sales and other taxes, lost 83 percent to 17 percent. Amendment 4, which would have made it harder for citizen-led constitutional changes to progress, lost 80 percent to 20 percent, according to The Associated Press. Governor Mike Kehoe, a longtime proponent of income tax elimination, said the work was "far from over" and vowed to continue pursuing tax cuts.

Opponents, including Missourians for Fair Governance and Missourians for Fair Taxation, argued the phase-out would create budget shortfalls, as income tax provides over $9 billion annually—the state's largest revenue source and about two-thirds of its general fund. The results leave Missouri's tax structure intact, breaking with a trend of tax reductions in GOP-led states.