MO. Rep. David Gregory Discovers $36 Million in Potential Savings

February 13, 2018, Jefferson City, Missouri – State Rep. David Gregory (R-96) today revealed tens of millions in potential savings for Missouri taxpayers. He presented his Fiscal Opportunity Audit of the Missouri Department of Revenue to the House Budget Committee.

Gregory, a Republican, said, “This detailed fiscal analysis reveals that as the legislature continues to craft a budget for Fiscal Year 2019 we now have the opportunity to achieve significant savings for Missouri families.”

For more than six months, Gregory conducted an in-depth Fiscal Opportunity Audit including significant data collection from the Missouri Department of Revenue and extensive interviews with its employees to identify potential savings for Missouri taxpayers.

Gregory’s experience in specialized audits is rooted in his work for a global consulting firm where he was responsible for analyzing financial statements, internal controls and business processes. Those audits found significant savings for multinational corporations. Now, Gregory wants to execute those same strategies at the state level.

Gregory’s Fiscal Opportunity Audit of the Missouri Department of Revenue uncovered seventeen diverse areas where the state can save huge amounts of money. For example, Gregory discovered:

• By reconsidering state discounts given to businesses when businesses remit sales taxes, the state could save $13.4 million by modifying the rebates awarded to businesses.
• The Department of Revenue can lower expenses substantially by reducing excessive supply and equipment costs.
• The State of Missouri could save taxpayers $375,000 by implementing a centralized training program for discrimination, harassment and diversity instead of the current policy of every Department hiring employees to do the same work.
• The Department of Revenue could substantially reduce its budget by evaluating employee duplications.
• Dedicating more employee resources to identifying tax evasion schemes will help identify costly financial fraud.

Later this year, the House Budget Committee will make fiscal recommendations that the Missouri House and Senate should consider. Gregory is working with the committee to implement elements of his Fiscal Opportunity Audit.

“Missouri families have to carefully watch their budgets and identify areas for savings. They expect their state government to do the same,” Gregory said. “The Fiscal Opportunity Audit of the Revenue Department discovered tens of millions in potential cost savings for taxpayers.

The findings in this audit are exactly why I get so frustrated when politicians think we need to raise taxes to help more people. Wrong. We can help more people and spend less money doing it."

Gregory, a Republican, age 32, was elected Missouri State Representative for the 96th District in November 2016. He was selected “Freshman Legislator of the Year” in the House of Representatives for “outstanding work on preventing government waste, fraud and abuse.” Gregory currently serves on the House committees for Budget; Judiciary; Special Committee on Small Business; and the Subcommittee on Appropriations-Public Safety, Corrections, Transportation, and Revenue. He is a native of South St. Louis County.

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