Missouri Bishops urge caution, reflection about Amendment 5 on Aug. 4 ballot
Missouri’s Roman Catholic bishops are counseling voters to think carefully before voting on Amendment 5 to the state’s constitution.
The proposed amendment, one of several amendments stated for the statewide Aug. 4 primary ballot, would give Missouri lawmakers authority to phase out the state’s income tax and permit greater reliance on sales and use taxes.
The bishops noted in their statement, released July 17, that part of their role is to help apply Catholic social teaching to the decisions that shape the life of the state, “particularly when those decisions affect the dignity and wellbeing of the poor and vulnerable.”
“While the Church does not prescribe any particular tax model,” the bishops pointed out, “she teaches that every system of taxation must serve the common good, be guided by justice and equity, and take into account each person’s ability to contribute.”
This principle was articulated by Pope St. John XXIII (+1958-1963) in his 1961 encyclical, “Mater et Magistra,” section 132.
In like manner, the U.S. Catholic bishops, in their 1986 pastoral letter, “Economic Justice for All,” affirmed that tax systems should be evaluated by their impact on the poor and ensure that those with greater resources bear a proportionately greater share of the public burden.
“For this reason,” Missouri’s bishops stated, “tax systems that rely heavily on regressive forms of taxation, such as sales taxes, should be approached with prudence because they can place a disproportionate burden on those with lower incomes.”
Regressive taxes take a larger percentage of income from people with lower incomes than from people with high incomes.
Signing the July 17 statement were: Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of St. Louis, Bishop Ralph B. O’Donnell of Jefferson City, Bishop James V. Johnston Jr. of Kansas City-St. Joseph, and Bishop Edward M. Rice of Springfield-Cape Girardeau.
They did so in their role as board members of the Missouri Catholic Conference (MCC) (mocatholic.org).
The MCC is the public-policy agency of the state’s four Roman Catholic dioceses.
The state’s bishops understand that many who support Amendment 5 do so out of a sincere desire to promote the long-term prosperity of the state.
They noted that proponents see the best way to achieve that prosperity is by expanding sales and use taxes to include certain areas that are currently untaxed, such as digital goods and services, while lowering property taxes.
The bishops noted that property taxes also tend to be regressive.
“These are legitimate considerations,” the bishops stated, “but they should be weighed alongside the potential effects on those who are most vulnerable.”
In addition, the bishops called for the preservation of effective incentives for charitable giving, “whether through existing tax credits or other approaches,” so that support for maternity homes, domestic violence shelters, food pantries, diaper banks, and other organizations that serve people in need are not diminished.
With this in mind, “we encourage the faithful to consider Amendment 5 in light of these principles and to discern this decision thoughtfully,” the bishops stated.
They also called upon elected officials, regardless of the outcome of the vote, to ensure that the needs of the poor and vulnerable remain at the forefront of public policy.
They pointed to “Dignitas Infinita” (“Infinite Dignity”) a 2024 declaration on human dignity made by the Church’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The declaration states, in part, that “respect for the dignity of the human person beyond all circumstances (must) be placed at the center of the commitment to the common good and at the center of every legal system.”
The bishops concluded their statement with a prayer: “May the Lord grant us wisdom to discern what is right, courage to pursue it, and charity to seek the good of all.”
The full text of the statement, in English and Spanish, can be found at: mocatholic.org/bishops-statements.
