We received this message from Pro Life Advocate Sam Lee from Campaign Life Missouri. Please contact your representative today to show support of the reauthorization of these important benevolent tax credits.
Friends,
Please pray for the Holy Spirit’s wisdom over the next few days hearings are conducted in the Missouri House (Tuesday) and Senate (Wednesday) on the bills to reauthorize the Pregnancy Resource Center Tax Credit, and other benevolent tax credits. Please read this article for more information on the hearings and where we stand on getting the tax credits reauthorized.
Sam
Samuel H. Lee
Campaign Life Missouri
P.O. Box 142585
St. Louis, MO 63114-0585
JEFFERSON CITY • One of the first bills Missouri Senate leaders plan to take up this year will show whether the logjam is breaking on tax credits.
The top-priority bill would renew several “benevolent” tax credit programs that expired in 2011 and 2012 when they were caught in the crossfire of a long-running House-Senate fight.
For three years, the Senate has refused to start new tax credit programs — or renew expiring ones — unless the Legislature also reined in the most expensive subsidy programs.
The costly programs – which finance housing development and the rehab of historic buildings — had powerful allies in the House. Bitter fights ensured. In the end, the whole incentive package died.
This year, with new leadership in both chambers and the departure of unbending fiscal conservative Sens. Jason Crowell and Chuck Purgason, the Senate will take a new approach.
“My goal is to show that the Senate is functional,” said Senate Majority Leader Ron Richard, R-Joplin. “We’re going to try to get some things done early that everybody agrees on.”
Bills renewing the benevolent credits until 2019 or 2025 — including one sponsored by Richard — are set for hearings in the Senate Jobs, Economic Development and Local Government Committee on Wednesday.
Specifically, the bills would restore tax incentives for the hostages in the fight: child advocacy centers, pregnancy resource centers and food pantries.
Also extended would be credits for surviving spouses of public safety officers and for people who modify their homes to make them accessible to a disabled resident.
A House committee will hear a similar bill tomorrow.
The credits encourage private donors to give to causes the state deems worthy by reducing donors’ state income taxes. For example, contributors to pregnancy resource centers would get back half of their donations.
Overall, tax credits have been growing steadily, costing the state $629 million last year. Acommission appointed by Gov. Jay Nixon has recommended that 28 smaller programs be consolidated or eliminated and that the largest development programs be scaled back.
But Richard wants to deal with tax credit reform separately from the benevolent credits.
“I think enough people believe that they’re worthy, and we’re going to deal with them on their own,” Richard said. “We’re going to try to get some wins.”
If things go as Richard plans, it will be up to the House to decide whether to accept the stand-alone bills and send them to the governor or amend them to add other goodies, such as a long-sought “angel” tax credit or the controversial extension of a credit used by Paul McKee to buy a large swath of St. Louis for redevelopment.
Making the bill into a Christmas tree could risk sending the whole package down the drain again.
Sam Lee, of Campaign Life Missouri, is a longtime lobbyist for the pregnancy center tax credit. He’s keeping his fingers crossed.
“I’m feeling much better about it this year than in previous years,” he said.
Still, one strong-willed senator can throw the strategy off track by talking endlessly.
“You never know what’ll happen when it hits the floor,” Lee said.
Virginia Young is the Jefferson City bureau chief of the Post-Dispatch. Follow her on twitter at @virginiayoung.