Establishes a tax credit for certain newspaper printing plants

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 2527
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE VOSS.
3885H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapter 135, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to a tax credit for
certain newspaper printing plants.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 135, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
2 known as section 135.2000, to read as follows:
135.2000. 1. As used in this section, the following terms shall mean:
2 (1) "Department", the Missouri department of r evenue;
3 (2) "Labor costs", the total compensation paid by a taxpayer to an employee as
4 r eported in box 5 of the employee's W -2. For the purposes of this subdivision,
5 "employee" shall mean an individual employed by a taxpayer as pressr oom or
6 mailr oom staff;
7 (3) "Qualifying newspaper printing plant", any individual, partnership, or
8 corporation as described under section 143.441 or 143.471 that:
9 (a) Is headquarter ed in this state; and
10 (b) Derives a majority of printing reven ue fr om the printing of newspapers
11 intended for public distribution;
12 (4) "State tax liability", any liability incurr ed by a taxpayer pursuant to the
13 pr ovisions of chapter 143 or chapter 148, exclusive of the pr ovisions relat ing to the
14 withholding of tax as pro vided for in sections 143.191 to 143.265 and relat ed pr ovisions;
15 (5) "T ax cre dit", a cr edit against the tax otherwise due under chapter 143,
16 excluding withholding tax imposed under sections 143.191 to 143.265;
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
17 (6) "T axpayer", any qualifying newspaper printing plant that is subject to the
18 tax imposed under chapter 143, excluding withholding tax imposed under sections
19 143.191 to 143.265.
20 2. For all tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, a taxpayer shall be
21 authorized to claim a tax cr edit against the taxpayer's state tax liability in an amount
22 equal to fifty per cent of the labor costs incurr ed by the taxpayer during the tax year .
23 3. (1) Any amount of tax credi ts authorized pursuant to this section that exceeds
24 a taxpayer's state tax liability shall be consider ed an overpayment of taxes and shall be
25 r efunded to the taxpayer .
26 (2) T ax cre dits authorized pursuant to this section may be transferr ed, sold, or
27 assigned.
28 (3) The total amount of tax credi ts that may be authorized pursuant to this
29 section in any tax year shall not exceed seven million dollars.
30 4. A taxpayer seeking tax credi ts authorized pursuant to this section shall submit
31 an application to the department on a form to be pr ovided by the department. Such
32 application form shall include, but not be limited to:
33 (1) The taxpayer's name and addr ess;
34 (2) The total amount of labor costs incurr ed during the tax year; and
35 (3) Any other information reas onably requ ested by the department.
36 5. The department may promul gate rules to implement the pr ovisions of this
37 section. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, that is
38 cr eated under the authority delegated in this section shall become effective only if it
39 complies with and is subject to all of the pr ovisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable,
40 section 536.028. This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and if any of the powers
41 vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to revi ew , to delay the
42 effective date, or to disappr ove and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional,
43 then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule pro posed or adopted after August
44 28, 2026, shall be invalid and void.
45 6. Pursuant to section 23.253 of the Missouri sunset act:
46 (1) The pr ogram authorized pursuant to this section shall automatically sunset
47 six years after the effective date of this section unless reauthori zed by an act of the
48 general assembly;
49 (2) This section shall terminate on September first of the calendar year
50 immediately following the calendar year in which the prog ram authorized pursuant to
51 this section is sunset; and
52 (3) The pr ovisions of this subsection shall not be construed to impair or impede
53 the state's fulfillment of any obligations, including the authorization, issuance, or
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54 r edemption of tax cr edits, incurr ed pursuant to this section prior to the date the
55 pr ogram authorized pursuant to this section is sunset.
✔
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