Missouri voters overwhelmingly rejected Amendment 5 on August 4, 2026, with 83.31% voting against the measure that would have required lawmakers to eliminate the state’s individual income tax. The amendment received 233,432 yes votes against 1,165,594 no votes, with 95% of precincts reporting.
Amendment 5 would have required the state legislature to gradually reduce and eliminate Missouri’s income tax based on revenue growth, while authorizing lawmakers to expand sales and use taxes to replace the lost revenue. The amendment would have prohibited any future state income taxes once the tax was eliminated.
The defeat reflected a broad coalition of opposition. The Missouri Association of Realtors, which spent $2.8 million against Amendment 5, led the campaign alongside groups ranging from educators to business organizations. Mark Jones of the Missouri National Education Association stated that “Missourians rejected the idea that they should pay for tax breaks for billionaires,” while Claire Cook-Callen of Progress Missouri said the amendment would have cost working families “about $500 more each year” through higher sales taxes on everyday purchases.
All eight of Missouri’s congressional districts opposed both Amendment 5 and Amendment 4, another measure that failed by a similar margin. The outcome gave voters a chance to express their priorities directly on fiscal policy, with supporters of the income tax arguing that eliminating it would make Missouri more competitive, while opponents warned that replacing income tax with sales tax would shift the burden onto lower-income residents and seniors.
Governor Mike Kehoe, who had supported Amendment 5, said after the defeat that he would continue seeking changes to Missouri’s tax structure. “While Amendment 5 did not earn the support it needed, I believe our work is far from over,” he stated. The governor’s commitment to tax reform echoed broader Republican efforts to reduce income taxes, though the Missouri vote suggested voters were wary of the sales-tax alternative.
The result aligned with cautionary lessons from other states. In Kansas, lawmakers cut income taxes in 2012 under Governor Sam Brownback, but the cuts led to a 24% reduction in personal income tax revenue and created structural budget deficits. By 2017, Kansas was forced to raise taxes again to address the fiscal crisis, a precedent that critics cited repeatedly during Missouri’s campaign.
Sources
- Missouri Independent — comprehensive election night reporting on Amendment 5 and Amendment 4 vote totals, opposition coalition funding, and voter reaction
- Ballotpedia — official election results (83.31% no, 16.69% yes), amendment text, and how the measure would have changed Missouri’s tax system
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities — analysis of Kansas income tax cuts in 2012 and their fiscal consequences through 2017
