By Marshall Griffin, KWMU
Jefferson City, MO – Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton is sponsoring a bill that would give a tax break to senior citizens.
If passed, the Senior Tax Justice Act would do away with the state's tax on senior citizens' Social Security benefits.
Flanked by dozens of elderly citizens at a press conference at the Capitol, Jetton said the tax doesn't make sense: "They've already paid taxes on this money once, there's no sense in making them pay taxes on it twice."
Democratic Representative Clint Zweifel of Florissant opposes the plan. He says the cut would benefit rich seniors.
"The data tell a different story than what the Speaker is saying," noted Zweifel. "98% of his plan goes to the wealthiest third."
Zweifel instead is sponsoring a bill that would expand the number of Missourians eligible for a credit on their property taxes.
But Jetton says all elderly Missourians should get the break, which would cost the state $105 million: "They either have to back to work to make ends meet, or get their retirement income, and then now they got to repay taxes on those same benefits that they paid taxes on all through their lives as they worked.
"We think that's wrong."