In 1913, the Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed. It reads:
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.
The idea of a permanent income tax was sold as something that would only affect the extremely rich and the average America would not be touched by it. Later that year Congress enacted the Revenue Act of 1913. The tax ranged from 1% on income exceeding $3,000 to 7% on incomes exceeding $500,000. Today, the rate of tax increases according to the amount of income–the more you make, the higher percentage you pay.
According to smartasset (2025 study):
The top 1% of earners across the U.S. earn an average of 19.5% of all income – sometimes garnering criticism from pundits and politicians – but pay 37% of total income taxes.
The way to balance the burden of taxes so that it would be shouldered equally would be tax consumption rather than income. Everyone would share the burden.
On March 4th, The Missouri Independent reported:
On a party-line vote, a Missouri House committee approved the bill putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot to allow expanded sales tax to supplant income tax
A sales tax is a consumption tax.
The article notes:
The income tax generated about 65% of the state’s annual general revenue receipts in fiscal year 2025, which were $13.4 billion in the year that ended June 30.
The proposal, if passed by the General Assembly, would go on the ballot in August or November. It would give lawmakers three years to expand the sales tax to “all goods and services” and eliminate exemptions to raise enough revenue to replace the income tax without having to seek another statewide vote.
The current state sales tax is 3% for general revenue, plus 1.225% earmarked for public schools, conservation, state parks and soil conservation. Local option sales taxes add to the 4.225% total, and there are more than 50 locations in the state where the total sales tax is 11% or higher.
Matching the current revenue from the individual income tax without expanding the transactions that are taxed would require raising the state sales tax to nearly 13%.
The proposal would allow sales tax on motor fuel for the first time. It would also exempt revenue from sales tax on fuel from a constitutional provision dedicating all taxes on gasoline and diesel to highway needs.
Missourians will reject the plan, Democrats said during committee debate.
“They’re already worried about the current budget and the cost of living,” state Rep. Pattie Mansur, a Kansas City Democrat. “They’re concerned about essential programs that are being cut now. The building has been full of people the last couple of weeks worrying about this. No one is asking for the elimination of state income tax.”
Republicans responded by saying the proposal will test what voters want and make the legislature conform to that.
“This really does nothing but go to the voters and say, ‘Do you want to change the system and try a new approach’,” said House Speaker Jon Patterson, a Republican from Lee’s Summit who is sponsoring the proposal.
With a consumption tax, there is no need for an Internal Revenue Service, and earnings received ‘under the table’ are taxed when they are spent. It also limits government control of taxpayer behavior. It will be interesting to watch the campaign on this issue.