Recently, the Missouri Department of Revenue released a letter providing helpful information for citizens regarding their 2018 income tax returns. If you have any questions about your 2018 return, you may call 573-522-0967. You may also sign up to receive automatic text message and email alerts regarding the status of your state tax return by visiting dor.mo.gov/returnstatus. The department announced that they will also follow the Internal Revenue Service’s lead and will not impose penalties for underpayment of estimated tax, provided the taxpayer has paid at least 85 percent of the tax owed by April 15. Additionally, if you have concerns about how your 2019 taxes will be affected, you can use this withholding calculator to adjust your withholding amount to achieve your desired result over the course of 2019.
Last week on the Senate floor, my fellow senators and I discussed several bills concerning workforce development, which the governor has stated is one of his top priorities for the 2019 legislative session. Senate Bill 56 modifies the Missouri Works Program by allowing the Department of Economic Development to offer tax credits to companies that create ten or more new jobs and have an average wage that exceeds ninety percent of the county’s average wage. This creates an incentive for companies to create more jobs and enrich Missouri’s economy.
Senate Bill 16 creates the Fast-Track Workforce Incentive Grant, giving adults who are at least 25 years old the opportunity to obtain valuable education or technical skills to fill open jobs throughout our state. One concern discussed during debate was the possibility that an individual could apply to this program, complete their education or training and then move to a different state and become employed there. In this case, Missouri would not recover the money used for their education since that individual is no longer contributing to the state’s economy. These conversations about workforce development are crucial, not only because it is one of the governor’s priorities, but also because it is vital to our state’s economy. These bills have the potential to revitalize our state’s workforce, so it is extremely important that we examine all possible unintended consequences from these pieces of legislation.
While we were unable to reach a vote on either of these issues during the past week, I look forward to continue working with my colleagues on both of these workforce development proposals. I am confident that we can come to a compromise on both of these important issues and send them to the Missouri House of Representatives for consideration.
On Thursday, Feb. 21, I was pleased to announce the formation of the University of Missouri Caucus, comprised of state senators and representatives who are alumni of one of the four University of Missouri system institutions located in Columbia, Kansas City, Rolla or St. Louis, as well as friends of the university system. The four universities that comprise the University of Missouri are the heart of our state’s higher education system. These four institutions offer the top graduate and professional schools in our state. This caucus is united in supporting these universities by advocating for appropriate funding for these schools and advancing the priorities of each campus. We had the distinct pleasure to meet with UM System President Mun Choi, the chancellors from each campus and students representing various university programs. I look forward to working with the system president, chancellors and fellow caucus members to advocate for the institutions of the University of Missouri.
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I am here to serve you, and my office door is always open to your questions, concerns and suggestions. You can reach my staff at 573-751-3931, and you can visit www.senate.mo.gov/rowden for an array of legislative and constituent resources.
