Missouri tax reform woes

Missouri tried to make various reforms to its tax system this year. One bill that would have lowered income tax rates a bit was vetoed by Governor Nixon and it was reported on September 11 that the legislature was not able to override the veto. ("Missouri Republicans Fail to Block Vetoes on 2 Bills," New York Times, 9/11/13.) Much of the debate seemed to center on whether the state could afford the cut. One rationale for the cut is that Missouri exempts some remote sales from use tax and if Congress ever gets the Marketplace Fairness bill enacted, Missouri residents would see a tax increase (the exemption would, in effect, go away).  I wrote about that recently in my last post as part of the state efforts to collect sales tax on e-commerce sales.

I had an interesting conversation with Columbia Daily Tribune reporter Rudi Keller recently about the proposals and its analysis using principles of good tax policy.  He has a detailed article on the bill, controversy and tax policy (!) in his 9/8/13 article -"Lines are drawn over taxes as Missouri lawmakers return for annual veto session." I encourage you to take a look - a very good article.

What do you think?  What does it take for state tax reform - a tax cut? proof that it would be better from a policy perspective? lower rates than neighboring states? a completely different system? something else?