FIRST REGULAR SESSION
93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE PEARCE.
Read 1st time March 22, 2005 and copies ordered printed.
STEPHEN S. DAVIS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal section 135.535 as enacted by conference committee substitute for senate substitute for senate committee substitute for house substitute for house committee substitute for house bill no. 701, ninetieth general assembly, first regular session and section 135.535 as enacted by conference committee substitute no. 2 for house substitute for house committee substitute for senate bill no. 20, ninetieth general assembly, first regular session, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to tax credits.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 135.535 as enacted by conference committee substitute for senate substitute for senate committee substitute for house substitute for house committee substitute for house bill no. 701, ninetieth general assembly, first regular session and section 135.535 as enacted by conference committee substitute no. 2 for house substitute for house committee substitute for senate bill no. 20, ninetieth general assembly, first regular session, RSMo, are repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 135.535, to read as follows:
[135.535. 1. A corporation, limited liability corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship, which moves its operations from outside Missouri or outside a distressed community into a distressed community, or which commences operations in a distressed community on or after January 1, 1999, and in either case has more than seventy-five percent of its employees at the facility in the distressed community, and which has fewer than one hundred employees for whom payroll taxes are paid, and which is a manufacturing, biomedical, medical devices, scientific research, animal research, computer software design or development, computer programming, telecommunications or a professional firm shall receive a forty percent credit against income taxes owed pursuant to chapter 143, 147 or 148, RSMo, other than taxes withheld pursuant to sections 143.191 to 143.265, RSMo, for each of the three years after such move, if approved by the department of economic development, which shall issue a certificate of eligibility if the department determines that the taxpayer is eligible for such credit. The maximum amount of credits per taxpayer set forth in this subsection shall not exceed one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars for each of the three years for which the credit is claimed. The department of economic development, by means of rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to the provisions of chapter 536, RSMo, shall assign appropriate standard industrial classification numbers to the companies which are eligible for the tax credits provided for in this section. Such three-year credits shall be awarded only one time to any company which moves its operations from outside of Missouri or outside of a distressed community into a distressed community or to a company which commences operations within a distressed community. A taxpayer shall file an application for certification of the tax credits for the first year in which credits are claimed and for each of the two succeeding taxable years for which credits are claimed.
2. Employees of such facilities physically working and earning wages for that work within a distressed community whose employers have been approved for tax credits pursuant to subsection 1 of this section by the department of economic development for whom payroll taxes are paid shall, also be eligible to receive a tax credit against individual income tax, imposed pursuant to chapter 143, RSMo, equal to one and one-half percent of their gross salary paid at such facility earned for each of the three years that the facility receives the tax credit provided by this section, so long as they were qualified employees of such entity. The employer shall calculate the amount of such credit and shall report the amount to the employee and the department of revenue.
3. A tax credit against income taxes owed pursuant to chapter 143, 147 or 148, RSMo, other than the taxes withheld pursuant to sections 143.191 to 143.265, RSMo, in lieu of the credit against income taxes as provided in subsection 1 of this section, may be taken by such an entity in a distressed community in an amount of forty percent of the amount of funds expended for computer equipment and its maintenance, medical laboratories and equipment, research laboratory equipment, manufacturing equipment, fiber optic equipment, high speed telecommunications, wiring or software development expense up to a maximum of seventy-five thousand dollars in tax credits for such equipment or expense per year per entity and for each of three years after commencement in or moving operations into a distressed community. A corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship, which has no more than one hundred employees for whom payroll taxes are paid, and which is already located in a distressed community, which expends funds for such equipment as set forth in this subsection in an amount exceeding its average of the prior two years for such equipment, shall be eligible to receive a twenty-five percent tax credit against income taxes owed pursuant to chapters 143, 147 and 148, RSMo, up to a maximum of seventy-five thousand dollars in tax credits for such additional equipment and expense per such entity. Tax credits pursuant to this subsection or subsection 1 may be used to satisfy the state tax liability due in the tax year the credit is certified, and that was due during the previous three years, and in any of the five tax years thereafter.
4. Tax credits shall be approved for applicants meeting the requirements of this section in the order that such applications are received. Certificates of tax credits issued in accordance with this section may be transferred, sold or assigned by notarized endorsement which names the transferee.
5. The tax credits allowed pursuant to subsections 1, 2 and 3 of this section shall be for an amount of no more than ten million dollars for each year beginning in 1999. The total maximum credit for all entities already located in distressed communities and claiming credits pursuant to subsection 3 of this section shall be seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The department of economic development in approving taxpayers for the credit as provided for in subsection 4 of this section shall use information provided by the department of revenue regarding taxes paid in the previous year, or projected taxes for those entities newly established in the state, as the method of determining when this maximum will be reached and shall maintain a record of the order of approval. Any tax credit not used in the period for which the credit was approved may be carried over until the full credit has been allowed.
6. A Missouri employer relocating into a distressed community and having employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement at the facility from which it is relocating shall not be eligible for the credits in subsection 1 or 3 of this section, and its employees shall not be eligible for the credit in subsection 2 of this section if the relocation violates or terminates a collective bargaining agreement covering employees at the facility, unless the affected collective bargaining unit concurs with the move.
7. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no taxpayer shall earn the tax credits allowed in this section and the tax credits otherwise allowed in section 135.110, or the tax credits, exemptions, and refund otherwise allowed in sections 135.200, 135.220, 135.225 and 135.245, respectively, for the same business for the same tax period.
8. An existing business located within a distressed community, that hires new employees within such distressed communities may be eligible for the tax credits provided in this section. In order to be eligible for such tax credits, the business located within the distressed community, during one of its tax years, must employ within such distressed communities at least twice as many workers as were employed at the beginning of that tax year. Prior to the addition of the new employees, the business shall have no more than one hundred employees. The provisions of this section shall apply only to a business which is a manufacturing, biomedical, medical devices, scientific research, animal research, computer software design or development, computer programming, or telecommunications business or a professional firm.]
135.535. 1. A corporation, limited liability corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship, which moves its operations from outside Missouri or outside a distressed community into a distressed community, or which commences operations in a distressed community on or after January 1, 1999, and in either case has more than seventy-five percent of its employees at the facility in the distressed community, and which has fewer than one hundred employees for whom payroll taxes are paid, and which is a manufacturing, biomedical, medical devices, scientific research, animal research, computer software design or development, computer programming, including Internet, web hosting, and other information technology, wireless or wired or other telecommunications or a professional firm shall receive a forty percent credit against income taxes owed pursuant to chapter 143, 147 or 148, RSMo, other than taxes withheld pursuant to sections 143.191 to 143.265, RSMo, for each of the three years after such move, if approved by the department of economic development, which shall issue a certificate of eligibility if the department determines that the taxpayer is eligible for such credit. The maximum amount of credits per taxpayer set forth in this subsection shall not exceed one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars for each of the three years for which the credit is claimed. The department of economic development, by means of rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to the provisions of chapter 536, RSMo, shall assign appropriate [standard industrial classification] North American Industry Classification System numbers to the companies which are eligible for the tax credits provided for in this section. Such three-year credits shall be awarded only one time to any company which moves its operations from outside of Missouri or outside of a distressed community into a distressed community or to a company which commences operations within a distressed community. A taxpayer shall file an application for certification of the tax credits for the first year in which credits are claimed and for each of the two succeeding taxable years for which credits are claimed.
2. Employees of such facilities physically working and earning wages for that work within a distressed community whose employers have been approved for tax credits pursuant to subsection 1 of this section by the department of economic development for whom payroll taxes are paid shall, also be eligible to receive a tax credit against individual income tax, imposed pursuant to chapter 143, RSMo, equal to one and one-half percent of their gross salary paid at such facility earned for each of the three years that the facility receives the tax credit provided by this section, so long as they were qualified employees of such entity. The employer shall calculate the amount of such credit and shall report the amount to the employee and the department of revenue.
3. A tax credit against income taxes owed pursuant to chapter 143, 147 or 148, RSMo, other than the taxes withheld pursuant to sections 143.191 to 143.265, RSMo, in lieu of the credit against income taxes as provided in subsection 1 of this section, may be taken by such an entity in a distressed community in an amount of forty percent of the amount of funds expended for computer equipment and its maintenance, medical laboratories and equipment, research laboratory equipment, manufacturing equipment, fiber optic equipment, high speed telecommunications, wiring or software development expense up to a maximum of seventy-five thousand dollars in tax credits for such equipment or expense per year per entity and for each of three years after commencement in or moving operations into a distressed community.
4. A corporation, partnership or sole partnership, which has no more than one hundred employees for whom payroll taxes are paid, which is already located in a distressed community and which expends funds for such equipment pursuant to subsection 3 of this section in an amount exceeding its average of the prior two years for such equipment, shall be eligible to receive a tax credit against income taxes owed pursuant to chapters 143, 147 and 148, RSMo, in an amount equal to the lesser of seventy-five thousand dollars or twenty-five percent of the funds expended for such additional equipment per such entity. Tax credits allowed pursuant to this subsection or subsection 1 of this section may be carried back to any of the three prior tax years and carried forward to any of the five tax years.
5. An existing corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship that is located within a distressed community and that relocates employees from another facility outside of the distressed community to its facility within the distressed community, and an existing business located within a distressed community that hires new employees for that facility may both be eligible for the tax credits allowed by subsections 1 and 3 of this section. To be eligible for such tax credits, such a business, during one of its tax years, shall employ within a distressed community at least twice as many employees as were employed at the beginning of that tax year. A business hiring employees shall have no more than one hundred employees before the addition of the new employees. This subsection shall only apply to a business which is a manufacturing, biomedical, medical devices, scientific research, animal research, computer software design or development, computer programming or telecommunications business, or a professional firm.
6. Tax credits shall be approved for applicants meeting the requirements of this section in the order that such applications are received. Certificates of tax credits issued in accordance with this section may be transferred, sold or assigned by notarized endorsement which names the transferee.
7. The tax credits allowed pursuant to subsections 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this section shall be for an amount of no more than ten million dollars for each year beginning in 1999. The total maximum credit for all entities already located in distressed communities and claiming credits pursuant to subsection 4 of this section shall be seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The department of economic development in approving taxpayers for the credit as provided for in subsection 6 of this section shall use information provided by the department of revenue regarding taxes paid in the previous year, or projected taxes for those entities newly established in the state, as the method of determining when this maximum will be reached and shall maintain a record of the order of approval. Any tax credit not used in the period for which the credit was approved may be carried over until the full credit has been allowed.
8. A Missouri employer relocating into a distressed community and having employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement at the facility from which it is relocating shall not be eligible for the credits in subsection 1, 3, 4 or 5 of this section, and its employees shall not be eligible for the credit in subsection 2 of this section if the relocation violates or terminates a collective bargaining agreement covering employees at the facility, unless the affected collective bargaining unit concurs with the move.
9. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no taxpayer shall earn the tax credits allowed in this section and the tax credits otherwise allowed in section 135.110, or the tax credits, exemptions, and refund otherwise allowed in sections 135.200, 135.220, 135.225 and 135.245, respectively, for the same business for the same tax period.