Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr. calls for special session on tax relief

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr. is urging Gov. Mike Parson to call a special session to provide immediate tax relief to Missourians.

He wants elected officials to reconsider House Bill 2694, which passed the Missouri House, but never made it to the Senate floor.

Personal property taxes, specifically taxes you owe on your vehicles, are projected to rise significantly over what you paid last year. White wants to see a tune-up on how those taxes are calculated.

The bill is said to allow assessors to use the “lowest value reported over a three-year period” when it comes to personal property valuation.

“Due to unforeseen circumstances with the supply chain, the inventory for vehicles is at an all-time low. The low inventory has caused the valuation of vehicles to increase dramatically,” White said. “House Bill No. 2694 filed during the 2022 Regular Session addressed these unforeseen circumstances while maintaining equity and uniformity.”

“The price of used cars were elevated, and when those were elevated then it created a situation where for the first time rather than those values of your car going down every year, now there’s an increase of almost 20-30%,” White said.

Here’s how the situation currently plays out under Missouri law: County tax assessors figure out the value of a vehicle by looking at the National Auto Dealership Association (NADA) book in June. Taxes are determined based on that amount.

“Every year at the end of June we certify values. And when we certified the personal property we saw a significant increase,” Gail McCann Beatty, director of assessment for Jackson County, said.

“We quickly realized this was going to be a significant burden on taxpayers,” McCann Beatty said.

This discussion led to the call to take up HB 2694, basically allowing some flexibility in assessments which are outlined in state law.

In his letter to Parson, White asks for lawmakers to take up this issue in special session before tax season.

“This being an unforeseen one I think this is only the right thing to do for the taxpayers,” White said.

McCann Beatty said she believes the spike in vehicle values is temporary – so tax trend-lines would normalize headed into the future.

FOX4 has reached out to Parson about the odds of this moving forward, but so far his office has offered no comment.

However, earlier this summer, Parson said he planned to call lawmakers back to the Capitol to lower the state’s income tax rate for all Missourians. He also said he wants to lower the standard deduction.

Then on Monday, Parson said they’ve started discussions to a hold special session to “pass the LARGEST state income TAX CUT in Missouri history.”

As the nation and Missouri face record inflation, high gas prices, and rising food costs, we want to provide permanent tax relief that provides yearly savings to Missourians… not a temporary stimulus.

Governor Mike Parson

Parson and the Missouri Legislature have not set a date yet for lawmakers to return on this special session.