Missouri would be only state that taxes food but not guns under bill passed by state Senate

The GOP-controlled Missouri Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would make Missouri the only state in the country that taxes food but not guns.

The legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican, would exempt sales of firearms and ammunition made in Missouri from all state and local sales taxes. It narrowly passed on a vote of 19-15 and will now head to the Missouri House.

A previous version of the bill included an amendment that would have eliminated the state’s 1.225% sales tax on non-prepared food. But Missouri Senate Republicans stripped the provision last month saying it would’ve been too expensive.

Brattin on Thursday said he supported cutting taxes on both food and guns but said the financial burden of the food tax cut was “too heavy of a lift,” referring to a legislative estimate that found the proposal including the food tax amendment could cost the state more than $373 million beginning in fiscal year 2025.

Five Senate Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the decision to cut taxes on guns but not food. Critics argue the bill prioritizes firearms over necessities, such as groceries.

“A guy goes to the store to buy a gallon of milk and a box of cereal for his kids. And next to him is the guy buying a box of ammunition. Why is the guy buying food for his kids paying taxes and the guy buying bullets is not?” state Sen. Mike Cierpiot, a Lee’s Summit Republican, asked on the floor.

Brattin’s bill would also provide gun and ammunition sellers a tax credit to offset federal excise taxes.

Democrats have previously pointed out that the gun tax cut comes as Missouri has seen high rates of gun violence in the state’s urban areas. Kansas City saw its second-deadliest year in history in 2022 with 171 killings, marking the third year in a row with staggering violence.

Separately on Thursday, the Missouri Senate passed a Democratic-led bill that would offer tax credits to grocery stores located in food deserts, but the bill does not cut taxes on the actual cost of food. It also would exempt diapers and feminine hygiene products from state sales taxes, provisions that were removed from Brattin’s gun tax bill.

Missouri, which taxes groceries at a lower rate than its 4.225% sales tax rate for most products, is one of just 13 states that places a tax on food.

Other states have considered exempting guns from sales taxes, in addition to Missouri. West Virginia, for example, enacted a sales tax exemption for small firearms and ammo in 2021, but that state does not tax food.

Five states — Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon — have no sales tax at all.

Brattin’s gun sales tax legislation comes as Missouri Democrats have renewed focus on gun control despite extreme pushback from Republicans. A poll released last week by Saint Louis University and British pollster YouGov found that a strong majority of Missourians would support stricter gun control measures even as Missouri lawmakers look to further loosen laws around firearms.

House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, a Springfield Democrat, told reporters Thursday that House Democrats would try to add the food tax provision back into Brattin’s bill.

“We’re going to do everything we can to stop that,” she said.