Dear Missouri REALTORS®,
Some of you may have seen TV ads this week, or even received campaign literature by mail, from the campaign supporting the “Everything Tax,” also known as Amendment 5, expected to be on the August 2026 ballot.
The mailers, specifically, were an effort to create confusion among our membership and break our unified opposition to the proposal that could harm housing affordability and increase Missourians' cost of living.
As we’ve shared with you on Common Ground and on our campaign webpage, Amendment 5 is a triple threat on taxation:
- First, it would allow lawmakers to disregard the 2016 Taxpayer Protection Amendment backed by Missouri REALTORS®, prohibiting sales tax on services that Missourians use every day.
- Second, it could allow the legislature to ignore the 2010 amendment sponsored by REALTORS®, and approved by 83.7% of Missouri voters, barring transfer taxes on real estate.
- Third, Amendment 5 would suspend the Hancock Amendment, which requires that significant tax increases be put to a vote of the people.
And we’re not alone in our opposition and concern. This Kansas City Star article cites our involvement, along with other coalition partners, and raises questions about the pro-Amendment 5 committee’s funding sources.
Additionally, coalition attorneys are arguing in the state court of appeals that Amendment 5 is unconstitutional and that its ballot language is misleading, unfair, and insufficient. We hope to have a ruling on that soon and will post an update to Common Ground as soon as we do.
The court’s decision may require changes to the details of our official opposition campaign’s website and collateral — which will launch as soon as the ruling is issued — but the overriding message will remain: Vote No on Amendment 5.
The targeting of REALTORS® with pro-Amendment 5 messaging is not unexpected and was a tactic used in 2010 and 2016 to try to derail our efforts to prohibit transfer taxes and sales tax on services. But it didn’t work.
We thank everyone who has reached out after receiving these mailers or seeing these ads, asking how to get involved in the Vote No on Amendment 5 campaign. Stay tuned to Common Ground and our dedicated REALTOR® Priority Campaigns webpage.