Is Amendment 5 Kansas 2.0?
Opponents of Amendment 5 have settled on their favorite scare word: Kansas.
They want Missourians to hear income tax elimination and think of the Brownback tax cuts, budget shortfalls, and the eventual rollback.
Kansas deserves a serious look. But it does not prove Missouri should keep a bad tax code forever.
There are important differences between this plan and what happened in Kansas.
What went wrong in Kansas
Kansas moved too fast.
Beginning in 2012, Kansas made major changes to its income tax. The state collapsed three brackets into two and cut rates from 3.5%, 6.25%, and 6.45% to 3.0% and 4.9%. The 2013 law then scheduled more rate cuts in future years.
Kansas also created a major carveout for nonwage business income. That meant certain business income from pass-through entities received special treatment under the income tax code.
That carveout became one of the defining failures of the Kansas plan.
The Brownback plan led to lower-than-expected revenues and cuts to government programs.
Kansas eventually reversed course. In 2017, lawmakers restored a three-bracket income tax structure, raised rates, and eliminated the special pass-through treatment.
The lesson from Kansas is to avoid big fiscal shocks, avoid loopholes, and not outrun revenue growth.
Amendment 5 is a different design
Amendment 5 does not copy the Brownback model.
Instead, it would phase out Missouri’s individual income tax based on revenue growth. It also requires the General Assembly to pass implementing legislation.
Kansas made immediate, aggressive changes and created a pass-through loophole. Amendment 5 creates a path for Missouri to move away from the income tax as revenue growth allows, and not before.
The gradual phasedown based on revenue triggers ensures that we’re not looking at budget shortfalls. By definition, income taxes are only cut when there is enough money coming in to replace them.
Amendment 5 includes no pass-through exemption or similar provision. Instead, it replaces revenue through a broadening of the sales tax base.
Instead of relying entirely on organic revenue growth from Missouri wage earners, the state will shift some of its tax burden onto visitors and tourists. They don’t pay Missouri income tax currently.
Missouri learned from Kansas. Amendment 5 does not repeat its mistakes.
Modern tax reform uses guardrails
States across the country have been reducing income taxes in more careful ways.
North Carolina has repeatedly cut income taxes, from 5.25% in 2019 to 4.25% in 2025. Additional reductions may apply beginning in 2027 based on revenue triggers.
Kentucky’s 2022 HB 8 put it on the road to zero income tax, reducing the individual income tax rate and provided for future reductions if general fund revenue triggers are met.
Mississippi’s 2025 HB 1 cuts the state income tax to 3% by 2030, with future annual decreases based on revenue triggers until the rate reaches zero.
These states are not using the old Kansas playbook. They are using phase-outs, revenue triggers, and simpler tax structures.
That is the modern model.
That’s what Amendment 5 does for Missouri.
Missouri can do this right
Kansas is a cautionary tale. It did not take tax reform off the table forever.
Missouri should learn the right lesson: avoid loopholes, avoid fiscal shock, and tie reform to real revenue growth.
The path forward for Missouri is clear: responsible pro-growth tax reform.
That’s Amendment 5.
Andy Bakker
Executive Director
Liberty Alliance USA