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Missourians paying for taxes they did not approve of.

March 8, 2006
By: Josh Kranzberg
State Capital Bureau

You might be paying taxes for construction you didn't approve. Josh Kranzberg explains how Claire McCaskill discovered this construction is costing the public millions.

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Transportation development districts or TDD's, are established to raise money for construction projects.

As of December 2004, 69 TDD's imposed a sales tax on retail stores within their boundaries.

Claire McCaskill says these districts have been implemented without public knowledge.

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Contents: "Bottom line, a developer in this state can go to court, and form one of these districts, and without any input or oversight, or accountablity from the public or from any elected official, they can increase taxes."

McCaskill's audit also revealed that in most instances, a single property owner or developer petitioned for the creation of a district and then approved the tax increase themselves

From Jefferson City, I'm Josh Kranzberg.

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$800 million dollars. That's how much Missourians paid in new taxes. Josh Kranzberg explains why you were never informed of the increase.

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State auditor Claire McCaskill recently concluded an audit of Transportation Development Districts, or TDD's.

The audit found these TDD's were able to increase taxes within their boundaries without notifying the public.

McCaskill says the problem isn't the tax, but the secrecy surrounding the tax.

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Contents: "I don't think anybody can quarrel with the fact that we need transportation infrastructure in this state. I think we can quarrel with whether or not this is the appropriate way to do it, when the public is completely in the dark."

McCaskill added that lawmakers should consider legislation to force stores with the tax to inform their customers of the increase. From Jefferson City, I'm Josh Kranzberg