JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Missouri senators have passed legislation to cut state income taxes, despite concerns from Gov. Jay Nixon.

The legislation approved 23-9 Tuesday by the Republican-led Senate could phase-in tax cuts beginning in 2017. It’s projected by legislative researchers to eventually waive more than $620 million annually.

Nixon has called the tax cut a reckless experiment that could harm education funding. The Democratic governor vetoed a tax cut last year and has threatened to do so this year unless the bill protects education and reduces existing tax breaks for developers.

The Senate legislation would gradually cut the top individual income tax rate to 5.5 percent from the current 6 percent and phase in a 25 percent deduction for business income reported on personal tax returns.