ST. LOUIS — Missouri Governor Mike Parson visited a warehouse in Bridgeton Wednesday, continuing to promote his call for a special legislative session to lower state income taxes.
If passed, all Missourians would pay less money in income taxes. Governor Parson said Missouri has more money on hand than ever before.
"I wanna make the largest tax cut in Missouri's history for everyday working people," Governor Parson said.
His plan would cut state income taxes from 5.3% to 4.8%.
"We've been trying to analyze this for a year now, he said."
The governor said people are going back to work and spending money, so he and his administration want to give that money back to taxpayers. If passed, this would mean $700 million less would be taken out of Missourians' paychecks every year.
"Our revenues are up higher than they've ever been in our state's history. Unemployment is at its lowest rate in state's history that it has been in 50 years,” he said.
Parson said this tax cut has nothing to do with federal money coming down, and everything to do with the strength of Missourians.
"They can drive the economy and not the government, and that's a win,” he said.
But most state Democrats, like State Representative LaKeySha Bosley, told 5 On Your Side they are worried that plan is not sustainable.
"They'll dangle a carrot in your face and hope you don't see the major hole at the bottom,” Bosley said.
She said lowering taxes is always the right idea, but said she’s worried about Governor Parson’s ideas of implementing it.
"We're already underfunding education, we're already underfunding mental health, we've cut hundreds of jobs,” Bosley said.
She also added it's not the right time for this type of cut, and a distraction against other important issues in the state.
"This is just a campaign ploy to distract us from women and girls having to carry unviable pregnancies,” Bosley said.
The special session starts in two weeks. If this plan passes, you could start seeing extra money in your paycheck starting in January.