The devil is always in the details.
Senate Bill 190, which sought to offer seniors tax relief, is certainly living up to the maxim that the particulars -- even the seemingly insignificant -- can end up causing problems.
In this instance, the legislation, which was signed by Gov. Mike Parson in July, lacks the details for how to implement and apply the tax relief.
The legislation seeks to offer seniors relief on their property and income taxes. The first part of the law authorizes counties to grant a property tax credit to eligible seniors; the second part eliminates income tax on Social Security benefits.
For the property tax credit to be available, counties would have to adopt ordinances authorizing the credits or residents would have to create petitions in support of the credits, which would then have to be approved by voters.
Under SB 190, once the credit is made available in a county, taxpayers could claim the tax credit if they are eligible for Social Security retirement benefits, own or have legal interest in a home and are liable for paying real property taxes on it.
The credit would essentially freeze the property tax at the time the county in which the property sits adopted the ordinance.
The sponsor of the bill said he was inspired to draft the legislation seniors in his district and around the state have seen dramatic increases in property tax assessments. Many of those seniors on fixed incomes are at risk of being forced out of their homes, or have already been...
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