Lawsuit filed to get Platte County’s voter-approved property tax relief

PLATTE COUNTY, Mo. (KQTV) -- Two Platte County residents recently appeared in court to ask the Platte County Collector of Revenue to apply a voter-approved tax credit.

Jason Maki of Parkville, Missouri, and James Bosch of Edgerton, Missouri, filed a petition in the Platte County Circuit Court asking the court to apply the homestead property tax credit to this year's tax bills.

The Missouri General Assembly created the property tax credit last year.

Once implemented, the credit resets a homeowner's property tax bill to its 2024 level and limits increases to 5% per year or the rate of inflation, whichever is greater. This would provide property tax relief to eligible Platte County homeowners.

County voters approved the credit on April 7, with 79.4% of the vote.

The statute said the county "shall apply such credit when calculating" each eligible taxpayer's liability and the credit "shall be noted on the statement of tax due sent to the eligible taxpayer by the county collector."

According to Maki and Bosch, the deliberate use of "shall" in the law makes implementation of the tax credit mandatory.

The release stated that on Sept. 23, the Platte County Commission reminded the Collector that applying and noting the credit this year is a mandatory duty of her office. They also shared that the Collector replied that her office plans "to start the process in 2027."

Maki and Bosch said this isn't about party lines, but about holding individuals accountable for doing what they believe should be done.

The petition asks the court to order the Collector to apply the credit when calculating 2026 tax liability for every eligible taxpayer's home and to print the amount on the 2026 tax statements, which go out this fall.

"The state legislature passed this into law in 2025. Platte County voters voted to put it in place here in April. The County Commission issued the order to implement it this year. The law says it SHALL be implemented. This is not optional," Maki said. "It does not depend on someone's opinion of what it would take to get done. The state enabled it, the taxpayers voted for it, and the taxpayers want it. At every doorstep I hear the same thing: property taxes are too high. This is a way to address that. Let's solve it today, not next year."

Bosch added, "The only thing standing between Platte County homeowners and the relief the law promises is the Collector's office. They knew this was coming for a year and continue to sandbag the implementation for reasons I cannot understand. The Collector's office should be working to help taxpayers, not against them."

Bosch continued, "We already saw what happened when the senior tax credit was delayed — some taxing jurisdictions have engaged in strategic delay in returning the money to the taxpayer. We can't let that happen again. Taxpayers deserve the relief the state gave them."