STLPR0%
St. Louis earnings tax again up for a vote on April 7 35%
By Rachel Lippmann0%
3/30/2026, 3:00:00 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 23 faulty reasoning types, including Framing Effect, Hasty Generalization, and Overconfidence Bias, with Appeal to Emotion as the most egregious example at 17.1% saturation with 61 hits. Analysis detected 637 faulty-reasoning hits from 357 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 42.6% and a BS Rank of 35% (14,250 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 65.10% of the article peer group.
St.
Louis residents will again decide whether they want to retain a tax that makes up one-third of the city’s general revenue.
Proposition E is on the April ballot because of a state law that requires a vote on the earnings tax every five years.
The 1% levy is paid by those who live or work in the city.
A yes vote leaves the tax in place.
If city residents vote no, the tax would phase out over 10 years.
A kickoff rally earlier this month for the campaign to keep the tax in place brought together politicians and police and fire department representatives, as well as labor officials and members.
It’s been one of the few points of agreement between Mayor Cara Spencer and the St.
Louis Metropolitan Police Department as they spar over a $250 million budget request from the state board that oversees the department.
"We are going to disagree about how we carve this pot up,” the mayor said.
“But we all do emphatically agree that without the earnings tax, it would be catastrophic for the city of St.
Louis.”
Spencer said she knows the city needs to look for alternate sources of revenue.
The tax has been under pressure recently as people who work from home claim refunds, though data from January show the pace of refunds is slowing.
In addition, state lawmakers regularly introduce legislation that limits who would have to pay the earnings tax or makes other changes that would reduce the amount of revenue it generates.
“We do have some work to do to make sure that we have a more robust stream of revenue going forward, and that's something that you'll be hearing from us as we move forward through the next few years,” Spencer said.
She did not rule out an earnings tax increase or adopting new taxes but promised a “robust community-centered conversation” before advancing any proposals.
Then-Mayor Tishaura Jones created a task force in 2024 to study the city’s revenue picture.
The group met several times but did not release a required report.
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