Summary
I’m calling out Missouri Republicans for eliminating the state capital gains tax—benefiting wealthy investors—while pushing SNAP restrictions that make it harder for low-income families to buy food. It’s a reverse Robin Hood that hurts Missourians.
By Ricky Dana — Candidate for U.S. House, Missouri’s 4th District
Missouri SNAP cuts and capital gains repeal — who really benefits?
Make no mistake: the Missouri SNAP cuts and capital gains repeal agenda is a textbook case of taking from the poor to give to the rich. Missouri’s Republican leadership eliminated taxes on capital gains for wealthy investors while pushing limits on what struggling families can buy with SNAP. That’s not reform — it’s redistribution in reverse.
Capital gains repeal: big tax cuts at the top, big holes at home
In July 2025, Governor Mike Kehoe signed HB 594 to fully exempt individual capital gains from Missouri income tax beginning January 1, 2025. Supporters claimed it would “boost investment,” but the truth is simple: most Missourians do not see large capital gains. The repeal benefits those already flush with stock profits and real-estate sales, while cutting funds for schools, hospitals, and infrastructure across rural counties. It’s the first half of the Missouri SNAP cuts and capital gains repeal strategy — reward the wealthy, weaken the rest.
Independent analyses warn that repealing capital gains taxes could cost Missouri hundreds of millions annually. When the state’s richest 1% cash in their portfolios, the rest of us pay through underfunded classrooms, unsafe bridges, and fewer rural clinics. This is what the Missouri SNAP cuts and capital gains repeal looks like in practice: a deliberate choice to shrink public investment while the top earners pocket the difference.
SNAP restrictions: fewer choices, more stigma, same hunger
On September 29, 2025, Governor Kehoe issued Executive Order 25-30 directing the Department of Social Services to seek a federal waiver to “refocus” SNAP. In practice, this means new bans on low-cost foods and complex rules that make checkout lines a nightmare. The very next day, Missouri filed that waiver. Lawmakers doubled down with SB 662, which forces permanent restrictions once the USDA signs off.
For many rural Missourians — especially in “food desert” counties — these so-called reforms will make benefits harder to use. In small-town stores where choices are already limited, banning affordable processed foods doesn’t promote health; it just promotes hunger. That’s the second half of the Missouri SNAP cuts and capital gains repeal playbook: stigmatize poverty while subsidizing privilege.
How the Missouri SNAP cuts and capital gains repeal hurt everyone
Budget impact: The state loses critical revenue from capital gains, while communities lose SNAP flexibility. When both sides of the budget are squeezed, who pays? The middle class, seniors, and families living paycheck to paycheck.
Food access: The waiver doesn’t increase SNAP benefits or open new grocery options. It only adds barriers. Meanwhile, wealthy Missourians — the main winners of the Missouri SNAP cuts and capital gains repeal — face no restrictions at all on what they buy or how much they save.
Working families: Rising prices and low wages already strain rural households. The Missouri SNAP cuts and capital gains repeal take away the little support that remains while handing yet another tax break to investors who don’t need one.
Plain talk from Missouri
Here’s the truth: When government rewards the few at the expense of the many, families and small towns fall behind. The Missouri SNAP cuts and capital gains repeal are not about “nutrition” or “growth” — they’re about power and priorities. If nutrition were the goal, we’d expand grocery access and farm-to-table programs. If growth were the goal, we’d invest in broadband, job training, and small-business lending. Instead, we get a policy that feeds Wall Street while starving Main Street.
Every Missourian deserves dignity — food on the table, care when they’re sick, and a fair shot to get ahead. The Missouri SNAP cuts and capital gains repeal push us the other way, widening inequality and punishing those already struggling to survive.
Bottom line
The Missouri SNAP cuts and capital gains repeal agenda doesn’t make our state stronger. It just makes the wealthy wealthier while pushing our most vulnerable neighbors to the edge. Missouri needs leaders who invest in people — not ones who treat hunger like a moral failure and privilege like a right.
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Sources:
Missouri Independent – Capital Gains Tax Exemption
Missouri Governor’s Office – Executive Order 25-30 (SNAP “Refocus”)
Missouri Senate – SB 662 SNAP Restrictions
Missouri Budget Project – Capital Gains Revenue Loss Analysis
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