Letter to the Editor: Exempting child care facilities from taxes is a bad idea

Dear editor,

On Aug. 6, Missouri voters are being asked to vote on a constitutional amendment to exempt all child care facilities outside of homes from property taxes. While we all want more affordable child care, this proposal is a terrible idea. Any small benefit to families with young children will be more than offset by higher property taxes on everyone else.

Many child care companies are for-profit businesses. Nonprofit child care facilities, like those in churches, are already tax exempt. I see no reason why for-profit child care companies deserve a tax exemption, but for-profit auto repair shops don’t. Yes, child care is important. So is having a functioning car to safely get to work. The argument that something should be tax exempt because, as the ballot language states, it “would support the well-being of children, families . . .... and society,” is essentially meaningless. Nearly anything could be made tax exempt by that logic.

Furthermore, this proposal does nothing to restrain government spending. Any reductions in the property tax base will result in higher property taxes on other entities that don’t have the special exemption, such as your home, your farm, and other businesses. The overall effect may be small, but it will be real.

The property tax base should be set as wide as possible so that the tax rates can be as low as possible for all taxpayers. Shrinking that tax base does real harm, no matter how sympathetic the cause may be. Missouri voters should keep that in mind when they choose in August.

—David Stokes, director of municipal policy for the Show-Me Institute