To the editor:

On August 6, in addition to voting in party primaries, Missouri voters will be asked to vote on a constitutional amendment to exempt all non-residential child care facilities from property taxes. While we all want affordable child care, this proposal is a terrible idea. Any small benefit to families with young children will be more than offset by higher property taxes for everyone else.

Many child care businesses are for-profit businesses. Nonprofit child care facilities, such as those in churches, are already tax exempt. I see no reason why for-profit child care businesses deserve a tax exemption but for-profit auto repair shops don’t. Yes, child care is important. And so is a functioning car to get to work safely. The argument that something should be tax exempt because it would, as the ballot measures state, “support the well-being of children, families…and society” is essentially meaningless. Almost anything could be tax exempt by that logic.

Furthermore, this proposal does nothing to reduce government spending. Any reduction in the property tax base will result in higher property taxes for other entities that do not have a special exemption, such as your home, your farm, and other businesses. The overall effect may be small, but it will be real.

The property tax base should be set as broadly as possible so that tax rates can be as low as possible for all taxpayers. Shrinking that tax base is harmful, no matter how likable the cause. Missouri voters should keep that in mind as they cast their ballots in August.

David Stokes,
Director of Municipal Policy,
Show Me Institute,
314-454-0647