The legislative season is now in full force as Missouri legislators start the session this week. The session runs through May 16, 2025.

During the 2024 campaign season there were nearly as many promises to lower taxes as there were candidates. Historically, state legislators have lowered one tax (to fulfill their campaign promise) and then added another.

The most rare of tax reductions is to completely eliminate a tax.

For 2025, Missouri legislators could start by eliminating taxes on food, garden seeds and garden plants. Not a reduction, but -0- no tax on food or the garden seeds and plants to grow your own food.

Forty other states do not tax food (groceries). Missouri could be number 41. The most recent state to eliminate taxes on groceries is Kansas. Starting Jan. 1, 2025, Kansas no longer collects sales tax on groceries.

Two current bills in the Missouri House and one in the Missouri Senate would eliminate the sales tax on food:

• House Bill HB345, sponsored by Rep Ben Keathley, St Louis County, exempts the retail sale of food from state sales and use tax and phases out local sales and use tax on the retail sale of food over four years. Newly elected Rep Will Jobe, of Jackson County, filed a similar bill with HB432.

• Senator Mary Elizabeth Coleman filed SB57 that is very similar to Rep Keathley’s HB345.

In 2024, Rep Ben Keathley told West Newsmagazine of Chesterfield Missouri: “I think it’s important (that) we look at necessities and things, (and) for governments to be completely funded off of taxing people for stuff that they have to buy,” Keathley said. “To me it is wrong. And when that mountain is going up and up on people like crazy with inflation, and with other economic pressures, that’s where we’re squeezing people the hardest, and the people we’re squeezing are the people who can least afford to pay that tax.”

The cost of an average Missouri family’s groceries has increased about 20% since the pandemic in 2020.

Over a million Missouri families raise some of their own food in a variety of sizes of backyard garden spots. Home grown fruits and vegetables are often more nutritious than store bought produce. Plus gardening is a great family activity and a good way to teach children where some of their food comes from.

Garden seeds and greenhouse garden plants should be exempt from sales tax along with groceries.

Missouri Legislators, may we now buy our families groceries and garden seeds without having to pay Caesar?