Fisher explains Circuit Breaker details

Missouri State Representative Barney Fisher, R-District 125, spoke Friday afternoon to a group of residents of rental housing at Crawford House concerning the property tax credit the Department of Revenue is no longer allowing. He said a fellow member of the Missouri House of Representatives, Stanley Cox, District 118, is proposing a bill to reinstate the credit. --Steve Moyer/Daily Mail

In a recent decision, the Missouri Department of Revenue began enforcing a three-decade old provision of the law that precludes renters in public housing facilities-- which do not pay property tax -- from receiving the rebates.

"The Department of Revenue has been ignoring the law and allowing deductions to go through," Fisher said. "Last November or December DOR decided to follow the law and not allow the rebates anymore."

Fisher said he did not think the DOR would try to recover any money a renter had received in the past.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about, even if they did try to collect they can only go back three years," Fisher said.

Fisher said that in response to the departments change in enforcement a colleague, Stanley Cox, district 118, was sponsoring a bill that would change the law to allow renters in low-income housing to receive the rebates.

"The good news is we're trying to get it into law," Fisher said. "A colleague, Stan Cox, is sponsoring a bill that would allow the rebates to continue."

Fisher cautioned the audience that even if the proposed bill passed it would not change anything in the current tax year.

"This bill would not change anything in 2009," Fisher said. "The Constitution doesn't allow us to make a retroactive law. You are not getting that tax back now, but this will be effective for 2010 if it passes."

To be eligible for the program, the taxpayer must be 65 or older as of Dec. 31, 2008, and a Missouri resident for the entire year or 100 percent disabled or 60 years of age or older as of Dec. 31, 2008, and receiving surviving spouse, Social Security benefits.

During a question period after Fisher's talk the issue of school funding was raised. Fisher said that there were two schools of thought on the issue, one that proposed funding schools at 100 percent of the formula and one that proposed school funding be subject to across the board cuts as all other programs were.

"I'm in the camp that believes we should fund the formula 100 percent," Fisher said. "A lot of us have said "We support education as the number one priority," and we should back that up. Some think education should take their lumps along with everything else in the budget.

Fisher pointed to the Career Ladder program as an example of a successful program that should be continued.

"The problem is when you have across the board cuts you lose programs like the ShowMe Challenge which are successful and doing good work," Fisher said. "Career Ladder is another good program. The thing is Career Ladder is the only program we have where the work is done in one fiscal year and is paid for in another.

"The teachers work hard, it's a three-stage program. In the first stage the compensation is $1,500 per year, in the second it's $3,500 and in the third it's $5,000. The teachers do the work to qualify and they don't get paid until the next year. We have made a commitment to them and they have done the work, they deserve to be paid for it."

Fisher said the formula was changed in 2005 and is being implemented in progressive stages until 2012.