Public Finance

Eric Hinson, Former St. Clair Fire Chief, Sentenced For Embezzling Half A Million

What happens when you steal more than half a million dollars from the fire department you run? In the case of Eric Hinson, you get to spend 35 months in prison -- and have to pay the money back. Hinson, former chief of the St. Clair Fire Protection District and Ladue Fire Department, officials s ... More >>

Opening Day: No Free Parking...And the Police Are Watching You!

Nothing on Planet Earth can get in the way of having a really awesome Opening Day today, right? Wrong! Here's a quick public service announcement for you: No more free parking! In the past, the city has offered free parking to fans on the most important day of the year for St. Louis, but apparentl ... More >>

Abortion Debate: NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri Criticizes Tax Credits for Controversial Centers

So-called crisis pregnancy centers give out all kinds of false information in Missouri -- fueled at times by religious doctrine and designed to intimidate women from seeking abortions. At least that is the argument of NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri, which is speaking out against the potential public fu ... More >>

St. Louis Fails Transparency Review: MoPIRG Criticizes City for Lack of Accountability

How is the City of St. Louis spending taxpayer dollars? It's can be challenging to to answer that question -- at least according to a new report from an organization that has given St. Louis a failing grade for budget transparency and accountability. Missouri's Public Interest Research Group, or ... More >>

Cheap Cigs Spent Big Money Defeating Missouri's Prop. B

Tobacco companies financed the bulk of the paid opposition to last week's Proposition B that would have raised cigarette taxes in Missouri.Two off-brand cigarette manufacturers -- Cheyenne International and Xcaliber International -- each contributed more than $900,000 to the Missouri Petroleum Marke ... More >>

Tobacco Tax Critics Warn That Prop B Will Shrink City Coffers. But Mayors Ain't Scared!

Critics of Proposition B -- which would jack up the state tax on cigarettes from 17 cents to 90 cents per pack -- are warning St. Louis and Kansas City: Don't vote for this! It will actually shrink your revenue! Perhaps, but the powers-that-be don't seem spooked at all: Both our mayor, Francis Slay, ... More >>

Post-Dispatch Gets $268,000 Paycheck Courtesy of Missouri Treasurer's Media Buy

Scenario: You're one of those dinosaurs who still subscribes to the print edition of the Post-Dispatch, and for the third time this week, today you picked the paper off the front lawn to notice something strange. For a paper that seems to be constantly getting slimmer and slimmer, the Post-Dispatch ... More >>

St. Louis Fed: The Crisis In Greece Could Happen Here

The St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank (one of 12 such regional banks in our nation) does cool stuff sometimes. One of its missions is to "disseminate economic research that is useful to a wide range of audiences, including the general public." Hence this simple video primer on the crisis in Greece, and ... More >>

Marshall Faulk's St. Louis Condo Sold for Back Taxes

​If real estate records are any indication, NFL Hall-of-Famer Marshall Faulk appears to be in a financial tailspin. Earlier today came news that a Florida condominium he owns is in foreclosure and that he owes the condominium association $21,982 in unpaid dues. And it doesn't end there. In 2010 th ... More >>

Lawsuit Filed Against Latest "Fair Tax" Proposals

Lawuit: Ballot language provides bad road map for voters.​Missourians for Fair Taxation last week filed a lawsuit attempting to change the ballot language for two recent proposals that will ask voters to eliminate state income tax in favor of higher sales taxes in Missouri.The group -- composed of ... More >>

Alderman Fred Wessels Vows to Clean Up St. Louis Treasurer's Office

Larry Williams hasn't updated his City Hall mugshot since the early '80s.​St. Louis' longtime treasurer, Larry Williams, is on the hot seat after one of his employees was indicted on charges last week that he bilked the city for $175,000 worth of work that federal prosecutors say he never performe ... More >>

Under Fire, City Warms Up to Private Rehabbers

​Last spring, two big cannonballs were lobbed at the city's mechanism for handling properties that have fallen through the cracks and into the public hands. The first blow landed on April 19. That was the day  Audrey Spalding of the Show-Me Institute, a conservative think-tank, released her o ... More >>

Study: "Fair Tax" Would Cost Missouri $2.5 Billion, Reduce General Revenue By a Third

Latest analysis predicts dire consequences of "fair tax."​The Missouri Budget Project is out with a new study that it says shows that several "fair tax" proposals for Missouri would cost the state billions. The report suggests that the efforts of financier Rex Sinquefield to replace Missouri's inc ... More >>

Debt Ceiling Debate -- Blueberry Hill Barfly Speaks Out

Albert SamahaPresident Obama "gave what he had to to get it done," says Vincent.​"An informed citizenry is the bulwark of a democracy" -- Thomas Jefferson The power of The People rests upon our ability to hold elected officials accountable for their positions. This means wading through the s ... More >>

Governor Nixon Toys With City's Hopes for Local Control in Special Session

Will Governor Nixon throw St. Louis a bone this September?​On Wednesday, Mayor Francis Slay wrote on his blog and the Post-Dispatch reported that a bill to bring local control to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department would be included in the special session now being planned for Septemb ... More >>

Todd Akin is One of Those Republicans Willing to See America Default on Debt

​Depending on which prominent economist you talk to, a failure to raise the debt ceiling by 12:00 a.m. (EST) August 2, 2011 would either be "doomsday," "calamitous," "a calamity," "serious, and we probably would be thrown into a recession," "could provoke a renewed financial crisis," or someth ... More >>

James Norvell Fitch Jr.: Quick Shop Owner Sentenced for Food Stamp Fraud

T.R. Corner Store at 3935 S. Grand​James Norvell Fitch Jr. of Florissant was sentenced to eighteen months in prison yesterday and ordered to pay back $400,000 for allowing fraudulent food-stamp transactions at two quick shop/delis he owned and operated in St. Louis between 2006 and 2008. Fitch, ... More >>

Cinnabon Gives a Free Sugar Boost on Tax Day

Cinnabon​ Tax Day - even with a few buffer days because who in the world can turn in their taxes on a Friday? That's practically, almost the weekend! - is so stressful. Especially for people who've waited until the very last minute to file. To reward poor time management, mall-based Cinnabon ... More >>

Claire McCaskill's "Damn Plane" Now For Sale on Craigslist

It's a bird ... it's a shit bird pain in the ass!​Well! Look who's selling her private plane on Craigslist! Now, you might think this ad is a joke, but what kind of wiseguy would mock Missouri's senior senator for failing to pay taxes on her personal aircraft for, oh, four freakin' years? ... More >>

Nixon Strikes a Frugal Tone as St. Louisans are Outed as Cheapskates

​Yesterday was a big day in Missouri frugality. Gov. Jay Nixon proposed $300 million in budget cuts during his State of the State address -- even as the website Coupons.com ranked St. Louis as the fourth-cheapest city in the country. Nixon outlined a plan to knock down the state's 2012 budge ... More >>

Comment of the Day: "Living in Civilization Costs Money"

Today's comment of the day comes in response to Chad Garrison's post about a Fenton man who wants to do away with the state's personal property tax -- which Garrison compared to billionaire financier Rex Sinquefield, who's trying to eliminate the earnings taxes in St. Louis and Kansas City.As "J. Br ... More >>

Senate Debate: Carnahan Goes for the Jugular; Blunt Dons His Teflon Suit and Counterattacks

​Robin Carnahan wasted no time going after her Republican opponent, Roy Blunt, in the first face-off between the two candidates yesterday. Sporting an aqua-marine blouse, Carnahan leaned on the dais during her two-minute opening statement and blasted Blunt with allegations made in her campaign ads ... More >>

New York City Says No Food Stamps for Sodas

Despite possible legal roadblocks, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg issues a plan to make sugar-sweetened soft drink ineligible for food stamps. The New York Times reports that New York City requested permission from the USDA to perform a two-year experiment to ban soda purchases with food stam ... More >>

Hearings This Morning on St. Louis Casino Proposals

A rendering of Casino Celebration at I-270 and Riverview.​Got anything to say in support or opposition to two casino proposals currently under consideration in St. Louis? Then head on down to the Renaissance Hotel at the airport a.s.a.p. That's where the Missouri Gaming Commission is holding heari ... More >>

Kansas City Asks Judge to Bar Earnings Tax Measure from Ballot

A judge in Cole County has until today to decide on a request from Kansas City officials that a controversial measure be kept off the November ballot. Proposition A would ask Missouri voters to bar earnings taxes in cities that don't already have them and require residents of St. Louis and Kansas Ci ... More >>

John Steffen: Owner of Pyramid Construction Indicted for Fraud

One of the St. Louis' biggest downtown developers of the past decade was indicted this morning on federal fraud charges.georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.govJohn Steffen (left) and fellow St. Louis developer Craig Heller receive a preservation award from Laura Bush in May 2007.​The United States Att ... More >>

Loop Trolley: A Piece of Cake

RFT photo​Loop impresario Joe Edwards held a press conference this morning outside his Blueberry Hill restaurant to celebrate yesterday's awarding of a $24-million federal grant for his latest dream: a trolley connecting Delmar Avenue to Forest Park. On hand today for the ceremony were Congressmen ... More >>

Last Refuge of the Penny-Pinching Smoker: Missouri!

Image viaCheap cheap! Gummed lungs!​On July 1, Missouri will have the cheapest smokes in the entire U.S. of A.Previously, only South Carolina's excise tax was lower. But last month, lawmakers there voted to increase it to 57 cents per pack. In Missouri, the bargain basement ciggie tax is still at ... More >>

Local Producers the Trak Starz Charged With Allegedly Failing to File Federal Income Taxes

Jennifer SilverbergThe Trak Starz in 2004​Shamar Daugherty and Alonzo Lee -- a.k.a. the Trak Starz, one of the city's most-decorated and prolific hip-hop/pop production teams -- have been charged with "allegedly failing to file federal income taxes," according to the Post-Dispatch. Yesterday, ... More >>

Missouri Could Soon Have Lowest Cigarette Tax in Nation if South Carolina Bill Becomes Law

Missourah: Smoking with little cents since 1821.​The South Carolina legislature yesterday approved a bill that would raise cigarette taxes in that state from a nationwide low of 7 cents per pack to 57 cents. South Carolina governor Mark Sanford has said he'll veto the bill, though given the strong ... More >>

Mustache Institute Demands Tax Break for Lip Hair

In an eleventh-hour move, the St. Louis-based American Mustache Institute today (Tax Day Eve) rolled out an initiative calling on the federal government to allow deductions for mustache wearers. The group is asking for a $250 tax break, which is what it says mustached men (and women), must spend eac ... More >>

Future of St. Louis Public Transportation Up for Vote Today

Will Metro make it this time?​Voters in St. Louis County today will be asked to approve a half-cent sales tax hike for Metro. If approved, Proposition A would also trigger quarter-cent tax increase in the city. All told, the tax hike would raise $70-$80 million a year for Metro, which plans to use ... More >>

Cents Less: Budget Cut of $7 Million Would Cost Missouri $38 Million in Federal Funds

Bill would send $38.7 million in federal funds down the crapper.​A budget bill making its way through Jefferson City could have a devastating impact on child care in Missouri.  Legislators in the Missouri House are looking to balance a projected $500-million budget gap for fiscal 2011. In so ... More >>

Tax-Exempt Missouri Yacht Buyers Might Be Drowned by Bills

Wikimedia CommonsAhoy, Jeff City! Days may be numbered for yacht owners' tax exemptions.​OK, what's more surprising about this scoop from the Kansas City Star? A) that Missouri is home to some 16,000 yachts, or, B) that none of 'em are subject to state sales taxes.The Star reports that as Jeff Cit ... More >>

'Fess Up Now: Who Left Their Lint Brush in a Safe-Deposit Box?

Missouri State Treasurer's OfficePill boxes, salad tongs and a lint brush: Who would ever leave such treasures in a safe deposit box ? It's that time of year again: The Missouri State Treasurer's Office is trying desperately to clean out its vault full of unclaimed loot. (These are items that folks ... More >>

FoodWire: Tax-Day Specials at McCormick & Schmick's

New seafood restaurant McCormick & Schmick's (17 West County Center) is offering special deals to ease the pain of tax day. Some menu items will cost only $10.40, and diners will receive a coupon for $10.40 toward a future visit to the restaurant. 

Readers hammer deadbeats and RFT's theater critic

No deadbeats here: A Cardinals exec steps up to the plate regarding the team's tax issues

Mow Your Lawn, Mister?: A squadron of youth is set to cut the grass for north-side land magnate Paul McKee. On your dime!

Grudge City

O’Fallon, Missouri: Home to petty feuds, poisonous politics – and prickly postcards.

Taxing Conversation

Valley Park Residents Try to Cut Off Money for Immigration Lawsuits

Hell No, We Won't Go!

A south St. Louis neighborhood raises a ruckus over plans to demolish homes for a shopping center

Numbers Game

Tax exemption for fat cats is the only issue Shrewsbury and Krewson won't talk about

Giants' Lesson: Part 1

Building a baseball stadium without buckets of public money

The Health (Club) Menace

Competition is healthy for the marketplace -- except when the government tips the scales

Base Motives

Well-heeled cities and developers keep TIF reform at bay

FIELD OF SCHEMES

The strategy for a new baseball stadium includes enlisting the involvement of key downtown developers while limiting public say over subsidies

Saving the Day for Corporate Welfare