CHAPTER 1V 
STATE AND LOCAL TAX REVENUES 
HE tax system of Missouri was outlined in the preced- 
ing chapter. The purpose of the present chapter is to 
show the extent to which the several sources of taxation 
contribute to the total tax revenues of the state and local 
governments. 
Although absolute amounts obtained from a given source 
are significant, changes over a period of time in the propor- 
tion of total tax revenues derived from that source are of 
greater importance. For example, the revenue derived from 
the general property tax may show a considerable increase 
over a period of years, but if the increase is at a lower rate 
than the increase in the total revenue from taxes, it follows 
that there has been a relative decline in the income from the 
general property tax. Only by considering a particular tax 
in relation to total revenue from taxes can a true appreciation 
of its relative importance be obtained. 
Sources oF STATE Tax REVENUE 
The most significant change in the sources of the tax 
revenue of Missouri over a period of years is the tremendous 
decline in the proportion of the total that is obtained from 
the general property tax. In 1903 the total tax revenue of 
the state amounted to slightly more than $4.3! million, and 
almost $3.0 million, or 69.19% of the total, was attributable to 
the general property tax. In 1913 the total tax receipts of 
the state were $6.2 million, and of this amount 52.19? 
represented general property taxes. The total taxes re- 
ceived by Missouri in 1918 were not much larger than in 
+ Computed from United States Bureau of the Census, Wealth, Debt and 
Taxation, 1913, Vol. II, pp. 38 f. 
2 Computed from United States Bureau of the Census, Wealth, Debt and 
Taxation, 1913, Vol. II, pp. 37 f.