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Tax credits among battles in Legislature's final week
Speaker of the House Ron Richard, R-Joplin, is opposed to Nixon's effort to rein in tax credits. He defends them as an important part of economic development.
Rep. John Diehl, R-Town and Country, favors a go-slow approach on overhauling tax credits. "I don't think there's anything we have to have if it means gutting the programs we have now," he said. "I don't see the House rushing to judgment on any of this."
The challenge is mostly one of time. As directed in the state constitution, the session ends at 6 p.m. Friday.
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Rethinking tax credits
In late March, the MGA and SLU released a study showing that, over the last 10 years, the historic tax credits have helped create or retain more than 43,000 jobs and have led to more than $669 million in new sales and income tax revenue for state and local governments.
Researchers for the study found that every situation where historic tax credits were used, the credits sparked more development nearby and, in the case of Ste. Genevieve and Hermann, helped increase tourism. There were no situations they found in which the tax credits didn’t work in that way.
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Debate continues on tax credit reform
Developers in Joplin say the Governor's push for tax credit reform would hurt a program that has been central to revitalizing downtown Joplin.
Kristen Blanchard, spokeswoman for Representative Ron Richard, R-Joplin, said Richard is "open to meeting with the governor and would support a comprehensive review of the program at some point, provided it was 'objective' and included a cost-benefit analysis of the tax credit programs."
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We need your help!
The Historic Tax Credit is under its worst attack since its inception in 1998. We need your support to preserve this effective economic development program. Without your financial support, the Coalition cannot keep its lobbyist and staff coordinator working to protect the Historic Tax Credit. Please give so we can help you and Missouri move forward.
Below is our fundraising letter and donation form in addition to three letters for you to mail to the Missouri Governor, Senate President Pro Tem and Speaker of the House that express your support of Historic Tax Credits. We appreciate your support!
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We need your help!
The Historic Tax Credit is under attack again this year. The Governor has proposed to restructure the program and give complete control to the Director of the Department of Economic Development “with discretion on the amount to award; whether to award any amount at all; and, whether to award any or all of a particular year’s credits allocation” (How Do We Get There? DED Tax Reform Proposal, Section 3h).
For more information about bills to monitor and how to help, please read on!
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