The Missouri Senate beat the weekend deadline to approve a resolution that rejects the Missouri State Tax Commission's recommendation to increase the grades of agricultural land that could be taxed based on their productivity and yield.
The resolution was approved in a 19-8 Senate vote and was delivered to the governor on Thursday, March 1.
Sen. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, sponsored the bill and said that in light of recent natural disasters that have afflicted Missouri, farmers can't afford to pay the increased taxes.
"Following 2011, where we had multiple disasters in ag country, with the floods, droughts, straight winds, tornadoes -- everything that really made 2011 not a very good year -- I personally didn't think it was a good time to be raising taxes," Munzlinger said.
There was push-back by senators from urban and suburban areas of the state, who said they doubted that the agriculture industry had as bad of a year as it claimed and said that it was unfair that farmers have not seen tax increases in 15 years.
"I have read articles that the farming industry was one of the bright spots in the economy this year," said Sen. Tim Green, D-St. Louis County.
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