Missouri voters will decide fate of state income tax in August election, Gov. Kehoe says
Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe answers questions after a news conference announcing details on Google's new data center in Montgomery County at the Laborers and Contractors Training Center in High Hill on Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
JEFFERSON CITY — Gov. Mike Kehoe has scheduled a statewide vote to phase out Missouri's income tax for the Aug. 4 primary election.
Kehoe, a Republican, said on Friday that putting the tax question on the August ballot will give lawmakers time to prepare for the massive change, if it is approved. The General Assembly, which is expected to see significant turnover next year because of term limits, meets annually from January through mid-May.
"Modernizing Missouri's outdated tax code, specifically, will be a momentous task for the Missouri General Assembly," Kehoe said in a statement.
In addition to the income tax question — Amendment 5 — Kehoe also placed three other proposed constitutional amendments on the August primary ballot, including an extension of a current sales tax for state parks and conservation, a Republican proposal to make it harder for Missourians to alter the state constitution and a question asking voters to make the Jackson County tax assessor an elected position.
His deadline to act on the election schedule was Tuesday, but he issued his decision Friday ahead of the long Memorial Day holiday weekend.
“As Missourians continue supporting policies that make our state more competitive, we want to ensure the legislature is positioned to act responsibly following the direction of the voters,” the governor said.
In choosing to put the income tax question and the initiative petition changes on the primary election ballot, Kehoe is banking on more Republicans than Democrats coming to the polls in August. However, the questions also could energize Democratic voters in an election cycle when turnout is traditionally lower.
The August ballot will also include a Democratic primary matchup between incumbent U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell and former Congresswoman Cori Bush in the St. Louis-based 1st Congressional District.
Kehoe's move leaves five more proposed constitutional amendments on the November general election ballot, including an attempt to impose a strict abortion ban, new congressional maps that favor Republican candidates, an initiative to stop lawmakers from overturning changes made by voters at the ballot and two others.
The lone statewide race in November will pit incumbent state auditor Republican Scott Fitzpatrick against Democrat Quentin Wilson of Kirkwood, who held cabinet-level positions in state government in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Kehoe isn’t the first governor to consider probable voter turnout in determining when to put questions on the ballot.
In 2016, former Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, scheduled for that November election a constitutional amendment requiring Missouri residents to show photo identification at the polls.
Nixon, who opposed the photo ID requirement, said putting the question on the general election ballot, rather than the August primary ballot, would give more voters a chance to weigh in. It passed.
Fight over income tax
Kehoe has made replacing the income tax with higher sales tax revenue a top priority, saying it will make Missouri more competitive with states that do not tax individual income.
The income tax question is being challenged in a lawsuit filed last week in Cole County court. The case, which centers on whether the ballot language is misleading, could be heard by Judge Christopher Limbaugh as soon as next week.
Missourians for Fair Taxation, backed by the Missouri Realtors, is leading the push against eliminating the income tax.
The organization Friday said a new report from Fitzpatrick, the state auditor, fails to say how much sales and use taxes could rise to offset revenue lost from phasing out the state income tax.
In addition, the report said lawmakers already have the power to reduce the state income tax, meaning no constitutional change is needed.
“Amendment 5 allows politicians to raise sales taxes on everyday goods sky high and add new sales taxes on everyday services without a vote of the people,” said Scott Charton, a spokesman for the campaign against Amendment 5.
Amendment 4, which would make it harder for citizens to change the state constitution, is opposed by a bipartisan coalition that says the question placed on the ballot by Republicans would strip citizens of their ability to shape public policy.
"This is about who holds the power in Missouri," said M’Evie Mead, campaign director for Protect Majority Rule MO. "Right now, if a majority of Missouri voters support something, it passes. That's how democracy is supposed to work. Amendment 4 would end that, and we're going to stop it."
By requiring a constitutional change to pass in all eight of Missouri’s congressional districts, the organization said one district representing as few as 7% of Missouri’s total voters could cancel out the will of the rest of the state.
Kurt Erickson – 573-556-6181
