This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon says he’s still concerned about reining in the state’s tax credits, even as he signed legislation Friday that extends, reinstates or creates close to a dozen tax-credit programs.
The governor signed into law two bills: SB10 and SB20.
The latter, SB20, reinstates or extends seven tax credit programs that deal with charities, including “incentives for contributions to food pantries, crisis nurseries, child advocacy centers, and pregnancy resource centers.”
Pantries, in particular, have been hurt by the expiration of their tax credit in August 2011. Donors receive a tax credit worth half of their contribution, up to $2,500.
SB10 authorizes a refundable tax credit aimed at attracting amateur sporting events to the state, sought by officials and civic leaders in the St. Louis area.
Nixon’s staff notes that SB20 has a number of other provisions, such as the bill’s renewal of property tax credits for “the surviving spouses of public safety officers killed in the line of duty,” and tax credits to help middle-and-low-income Missourians adapt their homes to make them accessible for people with disabilities.
And the bill authorizes a tax credit of up to $10,000 families who adopt children with special needs, and set up an incentive tax-credit program to encourage businesses “to create jobs in distressed communities. “
“Continuing to move our state forward means making sure we don’t leave our most vulnerable citizens behind,” Nixon said during a signing event in Cape Girardeau, Mo. “That is why I am pleased to sign this bipartisan legislation that will help charitable organizations across Missouri feed the hungry, protect children in crisis, and assist families in need.”
SB20 passed unanimously in the state Senate and by a vote of 157-1 in the House.
SB10 had been sought by civic leaders and officials in the St. Louis area, as a means of attracting such events as the collegiate Final Four basketball tournament.
Nixon still targeting historic, low-income housing credits
In any case, all of the tax credit programs signed into law on Friday contrast with Nixon’s longstanding effort to rein in the state’s credit programs, which now cost the budget annually around $600 million a year.
Said the governor: “As we extend these tax credits that work, we must also acknowledge the unfinished business of reforming those that do not. The Senate has passed a bill that reins in some of the state’s most costly and least effective tax credit expenditures, and I urge the House to do the same…”
Nixon’s targets include the two largest tax credit programs, which also are of particular importance in the St. Louis area: historic tax credits and credits for low-income housing.
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, a huge booster of Missouri’s historic tax credit program, is among those disturbed with the bill approved late February by the Missouri Senate that slashes the program’s annual allocation ceiling by almost two-thirds.
The Senate’s economic development bill would restrict historic-preservation tax credits to $50 million a year, and would also place a $55 million cap on low-income housing tax credits. The current caps now are $140 million for historic tax credits and $190 million for the low-income credits.
City officials and low-income housing advocates have been confident that the Missouri House would reject the Senate’s restrictions on the two programs.
But based on emails circulating late Friday, Nixon’s signings of SB10 and SB20 are seen by some as possibly making it more difficult to block the efforts of the governor and some Republicans to dramatically scale back the low-income and historic tax credit programs.
