Thursday, February 28, 2008

G.O.P. Pounces on Nixon's Claim to Property Tax Bill

It didn't take long for the e-mail box to fill up with agitated Republicans criticizing my decision to post Jay Nixon's claim he lined up with a property tax relief bill that cleared the Senate yesterday.

"You're unbelievable," wrote G.O.P. spokesperson Paul Sloca.

"I think it’s important to note that the bill Sen. (Mike) Gibbons introduced on Dec. 1, 2007, (before any of Nixon’s proposals) included the increase in the Circuit Breaker tax credit from $750 to $1100," added Farrah Fite, Senate G.O.P. spokesperson.

After the Senate cleared the bill Wednesday, Nixon campaign spokesperson Oren Shur claimed the bill the Senate passed adopted several provisions "nearly identical" to the proposal Attorney General unveiled in January.

Sloca called Nixon's position a conversion after a 20-year record of opposing property tax relief. Sloca dug up a 1986 article that reported Nixon "would support reduction of the vote necessary to pass bond issues and tax levies if the votes were limited to once a year.” Sloca said in 1989, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported "Nixon opposed reimbursing retirees $192 million for years of excessive tax payments made to the state."

Sloca also said Nixon opposed last year's Social Security tax cut for seniors -- even though that has nothing to do with property taxes.

Fite just wanted to clarify the specifics of Gibbons bill.

"Sen. Shoemyer introduced an amendment on the floor during debate to up the tax credit program to $30,000 for singles and $40,000 for married couples, but Sen. Gibbons made sure that amendment only applied to homeowners, not renters," she said.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Nixon's bill is the only bill that proposed eliminating the marriage penalty.