‘Keeps me up at night’: Missouri mayor warns of police layoffs if state stops grocery tax. Senator calls tax on food and diapers 'regressive' — what would ending it mean to your bottom line?

“There’s nothing more regressive than taxing necessities of life,” Coleman told First Alert 4.

The bill has received bipartisan support, as state residents look for relief from high grocery prices. However, not everyone is on board.

“This is one of the main things that keeps me up at night,” David Dimmitt, mayor of the St. Louis suburb of Brentwood, told First Alert 4.

“Because of how devastating it would be for every municipality across the state of Missouri.”

How eliminating tax on groceries could help consumers

If the tax on groceries were eliminated, the typical family of four in Missouri would save more than $60 per month, reports First Alert 4.

It could have an especially positive impact on some of the state's poorest residents, believes Coleman, telling the Missouri Independent, “I still think that this is the right solution, to create this carve-out, because our poorest citizens are having to pay regressive taxes.”

Swiftly, a retail technology provider, found that an estimated 70% of people nationwide struggle with grocery affordability. Reducing costs by $60 a month could provide some breathing room for these individuals — and especially for the 13% of state residents who lie below the poverty line in Missouri.

How municipalities could be affected

Unfortunately, the relief to individual families could come at the cost of the stability of municipalities around Missouri, says Mayor Dimmitt.

Dimmitt told First Alert 4 that the city of St. Louis would lose around $22 million in annual revenue, while Brentwood would lose $4 to $5 million or around 16% of the total revenue that the city currently collects.