April 11, 2013 – The Missouri House yesterday gave first round approval to a bill, proposed by Associated Industries of Missouri and sponsored by Rep. T.J. Berry (R-38, Kearney), that would cut the income taxes of EVERY Missouri business in half over five years.
The first cut of 10% would be effective for the 2013 tax year because net income tax revenues for fiscal year 2012 were greater than fiscal year 2011. For each of the next four tax years in which the net income tax revenues are greater than in fiscal year 2011, income taxes for all businesses would be reduced by an additional 10% until the total reduction of 50% has been achieved. For companies that pay their employees at least 150% of their county’s average wage, income taxes would be cut in half immediately, beginning in tax year 2013.
“This bill allows Missouri businesses to keep more of their hard earned money to increase employment, increase employees’ pay, and invest in infrastructure,” said Ray McCarty, president of Associated Industries of Missouri. “The 50% tax cut would be phased in for most businesses, but would be immediate for companies that pay their employees higher wages. Tax money that would otherwise simply be lost due to tax cuts in other states would be reinvested by the state in this tax cut that helps every current and future Missouri business,” said McCarty.
In addition to the income tax cut, House Bill 253 was amended to clarify sales tax rules on places of amusement. In recent years, the Missouri Department of Revenue has held some gyms to be taxable and some to be exempt and there has been much confusion over what constitutes a “place of amusement” under the current law. “This change will clarify the instances in which amusement and recreation charges are subject to sales tax – a victory for Missouri employers,” said McCarty.
An amendment to allow many withholding tax filers to file on an annual basis was also added to the bill, although some future work needs to be done on the language to fully implement the intent: to allow employers with less than $100 in withholding tax in each of the previous four quarters to file on an annual basis.
Also, an amendment to add titled manufacturing and mining equipment to the new and expanded plant manufacturing and mining exemption was also adopted.
The bill faces one more vote in the Missouri House before advancing to the Senate for further consideration. CLICK HERE for a link to the bill.
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