MO lawmakers want to use stimulus funds for tax rebates

[proud2BlibKansan]

JEFFERSON CITY | Federal stimulus money now pouring into state government coffers may trickle into the pockets of Missourians under a plan announced Thursday.

House leaders are now working to direct $1 billion of the state’s stimulus share toward an 8-percent state income-tax cut for the next two years.

The state is set to receive more than $4 billion in the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Of that, state lawmakers have substantial authority to spend about $2.17 billion to bridge budget gaps and reinvigorate the economy.

The plan outlined Thursday is an abrupt shift from current budget bills, which allocate more than a billion dollars in federal money for construction and infrastructure, social programs and various other state-level pork projects.

Those bills were devised over the last couple weeks by Republican budget leaders, but ran into strong opposition this week from fiscally conservative rank-and-filers within the party.

more . . . http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/18183