Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • LOGIN
  • Subscribe
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Consultants
    • Courts
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Face to Face
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Regulation
    • SECURE 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • Washington
    • White Papers
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • WPS Innovation Awards
    • Eddy Awards
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
    • ESG Investing | Industry Brief
    • Innovation in ESG Investing
    • 2023 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • The Plan Sponsor's Guide to Retirement Income
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
    • 2023 Defined Contribution East Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Research Center
    • The P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
    • 2023 Canadian Pension Risk Strategies
    • 2023 Retirement Income
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Print
March 18, 1996 12:00 AM

ST. LOUIS TO RESCIND TAX ON 401(K) ASSETS

Ted Jackson
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    ST. LOUIS - Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr. is backing away from a controversial tax on the deferred compensation plans, including 401(k)s, of employees who work in St. Louis.

    Mr. Bosley's announcement that he will seek to cancel the tax follows a firestorm of taxpayer anger and lawsuits.

    St. Louis began collecting a 1% tax on all deferred compensation plans about a decade ago. In 1993, city employees sued over the tax and successfully blocked it.

    But the city appealed the decision, and last month a Missouri state appellate court gave the city the authority to reinstate the tax.

    "The tax is driving people out of town," said Daniel C. Aubuchon, an attorney for the employees' group that sued the city. "I know some people who won't accept transfers downtown because of this tax."

    On Tuesday, St. Louis Revenue Collector Ron Legget announced he would start collecting the tax again for the city. A flood of angry calls made him reconsider his collection efforts; he finally called it off.

    "Our office was swamped with calls," he said. "Some people feel it's the straw that broke the camel's back. They want to know what the money's for and I tell them my job is just to collect."

    St. Louis Board of Aldermen President Francis Slay was not pleased Mr. Legget had stopped his collection drive. "The law is on the books, he ought to be collecting the tax," Mr. Slay said.

    Mr. Aubuchon said he would ask for another hearing in Missouri state court on the tax ruling.

    While Mr. Slay was angry the tax was not being collected, he recognized the political opposition to it and said he would introduce legislation to repeal it.

    Kansas City, Mo., and St. Louis are the only cities in the nation with ordinances that tax the deferred-compensation plans of workers in their cities, according to Mr. Bosley's office. St. Louis estimates it will lose $2 million a year in revenue without the tax.

    Local business organizations are uniformly opposed to the tax. "This tax sends a very non-productive message to the business community at a time when the city should be doing all it can to attract business, industry and employees," said William Maritz, president of Civic Progress, a powerful St. Louis business group.

    "Our employees are not at all happy," said Alyce Meadors, vice president of benefits at St. Louis-based Boatmen's Bank. "It's one more thing that is diminishing the value of their retirement funding. It is a wise move for the mayor to repeal this tax, which makes it more difficult for the city to attract new businesses."

    Boatmen's has 1,000 employees in St. Louis that are affected by the tax. The bank has 14,000 employees enrolled in its $200 million 401(k) plan.

    Not all aldermen are against the tax. Alderman Dan Gruen still wants to collect the tax, saying the city needs the money. But he said the tax shouldn't be collected retroactively to Jan. 1, as was the city's intention.

    "The law is clear. It says the 1% earnings tax shall be deducted before all other deductions," said Mr. Gruen.

    Mr. Legget said he would abide by the mayor's request to stop collecting the tax until changes can be made to the 1983 ordinance imposing the tax.

    City Comptroller Darlene Green said she always has opposed the tax, adding it goes completely against the pro-growth philosophy she espouses. The city should be encouraging middle-class residents and work to be good partners with the St. Louis business community, she said.

    Recommended for You
    Read the print edition of P&I
    Read the print edition of P&I
    Gender diversity is improving on FTSE 350 boards
    Gender diversity is improving on FTSE 350 boards
    FINRA honors Wharton's Olivia Mitchell with Ketchum Prize
    FINRA honors Wharton's Olivia Mitchell with Ketchum Prize
    Infrastructure Debt Delivers Reliable Returns
    Sponsored Content: Infrastructure Debt Delivers Reliable Returns

    Reader Poll

    May 1, 2023
     
    SEE MORE POLLS >
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    Counting on a Crisis: A Catalyst for Investment Innovation?
    A Strategic Allocator's Guide to Productivity and Profits
    Biodiversity: why investors should care
    Quantifying sustainability – the numbers, the data, and the people
    Valuing Banks: Hidden Losses Versus Assets
    Research for Institutional Money Management
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    December 12, 2022 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Content Solutions
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Consultants
      • Courts
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Face to Face
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Regulation
      • SECURE 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • Washington
      • White Papers
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • WPS Innovation Awards
      • Eddy Awards
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
      • ESG Investing | Industry Brief
      • Innovation in ESG Investing
      • 2023 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • The Plan Sponsor's Guide to Retirement Income
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
      • 2023 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Research Center
      • The P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
      • 2023 Canadian Pension Risk Strategies
      • 2023 Retirement Income