Today, the Missouri Record carried my article on commercial property tax surcharges in Jackson County / Kansas City. Last week, the St. Louis Business-Journal carried the St. Louis version of the same idea. (The Business-Journal website only shows the first half of the piece unless you are a subscriber.) I want to thank both publications for running and hosting the op-eds.

This was a fun article to write (it was one basic article tailored to two different geographic regions). First of all, it required some real research because the issue at hand is so rarely discussed. Second, it is a pretty clear example of something that was a good idea when it began, but over a period of years has become a problem that needs to be addressed. Why was it a good idea when it was introduced? Because, in general, it involved tax simplification — always a good thing — while not increasing taxes. In the short run, that is how it worked, but over time, though, taxes have certainly increased. That is why both elected officials and voters need to be able to lower the rate and why, most obviously, the surcharge rate should fall as assessments go up. Currently, the rate always remains the same and only voters can approve a rate decrease, which has never happened.

I hope to be a part of making this change to improve Missouri’s economic climate.