Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for the Apple capital-gains-tax petition funding 90% wind and solar electricity?

Plain-English summary

Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the Secretary of State's summary statement for the Winston Apple initiative petition (2020-048), a variant of Apple's broader clean-energy series. The petition proposed amending Chapters 143 and 286 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri to impose a state tax on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends and to direct the revenue toward increasing the percentage of Missouri electricity from wind and solar sources, "while creating as many jobs as possible," until 90% or more of state electricity came from wind and solar.

This is a narrower variant of the Apple petition reviewed in Opinion No. 78-2019, which used the broader "clean, renewable sources" framing. The 2020-048 version restricted the eligible energy sources to wind and solar specifically, and added the jobs-creation language. The substantive tax mechanism (capital gains and dividends taxed at the difference between actual federal tax and the ordinary-income rate) was the same. The AG's role was to confirm the summary statement met the legal content and form requirements, not to evaluate the policy.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2019. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

What is the difference between this petition and Opinion No. 78-2019?

2020-048 (this opinion) specifies wind and solar electricity. 2020-049 (Opinion No. 78-2019) uses the broader "clean, renewable sources" language. Both impose the same capital-gains and dividends tax. Filing both variants lets the proponent test which framing resonates with signers and voters, and which language clears legal review.

What does "the difference between the federal taxes paid on gains and dividends and the rate that would have been paid had the gains or dividends been taxed as marginal ordinary income" mean?

Federal law historically taxes long-term capital gains and qualified dividends at preferential rates lower than ordinary income. The proposal would have Missouri collect, as state tax, the gap between what a taxpayer actually paid under federal preferential rates and what would have been paid under the ordinary-income rate. That puts the state tax on top of, not in place of, the existing federal tax.

Why include job-creation language in the summary?

The proponent inserted language directing the state to maximize jobs as it pushed toward 90% wind and solar. The job framing reads as politically protective: it lets supporters argue the proposal is a jobs plan as much as an environmental plan.

Why does the AG approve summaries that may oversimplify complex tax policy?

The AG reviews legal content and form, not policy clarity. If the summary is accurate and meets the statutory criteria, the AG approves it. Whether voters can fully understand the implications from the summary alone is a different question.

Did this petition reach the ballot?

The opinion does not say. Petitions filed in 2019 targeted the 2020 ballot, and the proponent's overall success would depend on signature collection.

Background and statutory framework

§ 116.334, RSMo, governs the AG's review of summary statements. Chapter 143 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri covers state income taxation; Chapter 286 governs labor and employment. The combination of those two chapters is the petition's chosen vehicle for both imposing the new tax and directing the revenue to clean energy and jobs.

Citations

• § 116.334, RSMo (AG review of initiative summary statements)
• Chapters 143 and 286, Revised Statutes of Missouri (statutes the petition proposed to amend)
• Initiative Petition 2020-048 (Apple, wind and solar variant)

Source

• Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/71-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Original opinion text

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ERIC SCHMITT
JEFFERSON CITY, P.O. Box 899

April 15, 2019
OPINION LETTER NO. 71-2019

The Honorable John R. Ashcroft
Missouri Secretary of State
James C. Kirkpatrick State Information Center
600 West Main Street
Jefferson City, MO 65101

Dear Secretary Ashcroft:

This opinion letter responds to your request for our review under § 116.334, RSMo, of a proposed summary statement prepared for the petition submitted by Winston Apple regarding a proposed amendment to amend Chapters 143 & 286, Revised Statutes of Missouri (2020-048). The proposed summary statement is as follows:

Do you want to amend Missouri law to:

• impose a state tax on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends (gains and dividends) in an amount equal to the difference between the federal taxes paid on gains and dividends and the rate that would have been paid had the gains or dividends been taxed as marginal ordinary income; and

• use these tax revenues to increase the percentage of electricity generated by wind and solar sources in Missouri, while creating as many jobs as possible, until 90% or more of the state's electricity is from wind and solar sources?

Pursuant to § 116.334, RSMo, we approve the legal content and form of the proposed statement. Because our review of the statement is mandated by statute, no action that we take with respect to such review should be construed as an endorsement of the petition, nor as the expression of any view regarding the objectives of its proponents.

Very truly yours,

ERIC S. SCHMITT
Attorney General

OP-2019-0073