The Missouri Supreme Court refused Monday to hear a last-minute appeal filed by proponents of a measure to repeal the state income tax seeking to revise the summary voters will see on the Aug. 4 ballot.
Acting on a request filed Sunday, the court declined to review changes made by the Western District Court of Appeals to the summary for the proposal that will appear on the ballot as Amendment 5.
The decision leaves in place the revised ballot language included in an appeals court opinion delivered Friday. Tuesday is the deadline under state law for revising ballot language for the primary election.
The Supreme Court did not give a reason for not taking the case.
With the ballot summary now final, the campaigns for and against Amendment 5 move into the final push to convince voters.
The measure directing lawmakers to set revenue triggers for reducing and eventually eliminating the personal income tax is Gov. Mike Kehoe’s top priority for the year.
In a statement issued Monday morning, Kehoe said he remains confident voters will support Amendment 5.
“It is unfortunate that three unelected judges decided to mislead Missouri voters by rewriting the legislatively approved ballot language for Amendment 5,” Kehoe said. “Missouri is falling behind other states, and it is unproductive for judges and special interests’ lawsuits to undermine policies that would make our state more competitive.”
The case was brought on behalf of Missourians for Fair Taxation, a political action committee bankrolled by the Missouri Association of Realtors that is one of two organizing to defeat Amendment 5. If approved by voters, the amendment would allow lawmakers to ignore two constitutional provisions — one banning sales tax on real estate transactions and another permanently barring lawmakers from adding the sales tax to goods or services not already covered — added by Realtors through the initiative petition process.
In a statement Monday, Missourians for Fair Taxation said it is ready for the campaign to defeat Amendment 5.
“Voters will face higher taxes on everyday goods and services they use every day, from haircuts to car repairs to health care and home sales,” said Scott Charton, spokesman for the campaign. “Amendment 5’s ‘Everything Tax’ will cost Missourians from cradle to grave — from the services of the midwife to the services of the mortician.”
The Western District court rejected the lawsuit’s call to remove Amendment 5 from the ballot while agreeing to revise the summary. Missourians for Fair Taxation decided soon after the decision that it would not seek an appeal.
The ballot summary portion of the ruling was appealed by the attorney general’s office and Missouri Promise, the Republican-backed PAC backing the measure.
Joe Lamie, spokesman for Missouri Promise, declined to comment on the Monday decision.
Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s office said in a statement that she was pleased the Western District decision kept Amendment 5 on the ballot. The court, however, didn’t show the proper respect for legal principles that give great weight to what lawmakers write when they put measures on the ballot.
“The Western District has decided to repeatedly ignore this deference as activists against the will of the people’s elected representatives,” the statement read. “We are disappointed in the Supreme Court’s decision to not correct this mistake, but are proud of the work of our team in yet another victory against liberal lawfare.”
In the state’s appeal, Louis Capozzi, state solicitor general, argued that the appeals court judges overstepped their authority, noting that the court has revised every ballot summary it has considered this election cycle.
The rule from ballot cases in the past is that a ballot summary should not be revised if it presents the key points in a neutral way, Capozzi wrote.
