CHILD CARE TAX CREDITS

This act establishes the "Child Care Contribution Tax Credit Act".

For all tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, this act authorizes a tax credit in an amount equal to 75% of the taxpayer's contribution to a child care provider or intermediary, as such terms are defined in the act. A child care provider or intermediary shall file a contribution verification with the Department of Economic Development within sixty days of receiving a contribution, and shall issue a copy of such verification to the taxpayer. A failure to issue a contribution verification to a taxpayer shall entitle the taxpayer to a refund of the contribution. Contributions made to intermediaries shall be distributed in full to one or more child care providers within two years of the intermediary receiving such contribution.

Contributions made under the act shall be used directly by a child care provider to promote child care for children 12 years of age and younger, shall not be made to a child care provider in which the taxpayer has a direct financial interest, and shall not be made in exchange for care of a child or children unless the contribution is made by an employer purchasing child care for the children of the employer's employees. A child care provider or intermediary that uses a contribution for an ineligible purpose shall repay to the Department the value of the tax credit used for such ineligible purpose.

Tax credits authorized by the act shall not be refundable or transferable, but may be carried forward for up to six tax years. Notwithstanding this provision, taxpayers that are exempt for federal tax purposes shall be eligible for a refund of any tax credits received under this act, as described in the act.

The maximum amount of tax credits that shall be authorized in a calendar year shall not exceed $20 million. If the maximum amount of tax credits is authorized in a calendar year, the maximum amount of tax credits that may be authorized in subsequent years shall be increased by 15%, provided that all such increases in the allowable amount of tax credits shall be reserved for contributions made to child care providers located in a child care desert, as such term is defined in the act.

This provision shall sunset on December 31, 2030, unless reauthorized by the General Assembly. (Section 135.1310)

This act establishes the "Employer-Provided Child Care Assistance Tax Credit Act".

For all tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, this act authorizes a tax credit in an amount equal to 30% of qualified child care expenditures, as defined in the act, paid or incurred by an employer with two or more employees providing child care for its employees. The amount of the tax credit authorized under this act shall not exceed $200,000 per taxpayer per tax year. A facility shall not be considered a child care facility for the purposes of the act unless enrollment in the facility is open to the dependents of the taxpayer during the tax year, provided that the dependents fall within the age range ordinarily cared for by, and only require a level of care ordinarily provided by, such facility.

Tax credits authorized by the act shall not be refundable or transferable, but may be carried forward for up to six tax years. Notwithstanding this provision, taxpayers that are exempt for federal tax purposes shall be eligible for a refund of any tax credits received under this act, as described in the act.

The maximum amount of tax credits that shall be authorized in a calendar year shall not exceed $20 million. If the maximum amount of tax credits is authorized in a calendar year, the maximum amount of tax credits that may be authorized in subsequent years shall be increased by 15%, provided that all such increases in the allowable amount of tax credits shall be reserved for qualified child care expenditures for child care facilities located in a child care desert, as such term is defined in the act.

Tax credits authorized by this act shall be subject to recapture, as described in the act.

This provision shall sunset on December 31, 2030, unless reauthorized by the General Assembly. (Section 135.1325)

This act establishes the "Child Care Providers Tax Credit Act".

For all tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, this act authorizes child care providers with three or more employees to claim a tax credit in an amount equal to the child care provider's eligible employer withholding tax, as defined in the act, and may also claim a tax credit in an amount up to 30% of the child care provider's capital expenditures, as defined in the act, provided that such capital expenditures are not less than $1,000. The amount of the tax credit authorized under this act shall not exceed $200,000 per child care provider per tax year.

A child care provider shall submit to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education an application for the tax credit on a form to be provided by the Department. The child care provider shall provide proof of any capital expenditures for which the provider is claiming a tax credit.

Tax credits authorized by the act shall not be refundable or transferable, but may be carried forward for up to six tax years. Notwithstanding this provision, taxpayers that are exempt for federal tax purposes shall be eligible for a refund of any tax credits received under this act, as described in the act.

The maximum amount of tax credits that shall be authorized in a calendar year shall not exceed $20 million. If the maximum amount of tax credits is authorized in a calendar year, the maximum amount of tax credits that may be authorized in subsequent years shall be increased by 15%, provided that all such increases in the allowable amount of tax credits shall be reserved for child care providers located in a child care desert, as such term is defined in the act.

This provision shall sunset on December 31, 2030, unless reauthorized by the General Assembly. (Section 135.1350)

These provisions are identical to SS/SB 742 (2024) and HB 1488 (2024), and are substantially similar to provisions in HCS/SS/SB 143 (2023), SCS/SB 184 (2023), SB 509 (2023), SS#3/HCS/HB 268 (2023), HCS/HB 350 (2023), SCS/HCS/HB 668 (2023), and HCS/HB 870 (2023).

MISSOURI RURAL ACCESS TO CAPITAL ACT

This act establishes the "Missouri Rural Access to Capital Act", which provides a tax credit for certain investments made in businesses located in rural areas in this state.

This act allows investors to make capital investments in a rural fund, as defined in the act. Such investors shall be allowed a tax credit for a period of six years beginning with the year the investor made a capital investment. The tax credit shall be equal to a percentage of the capital investment. The percentage shall be zero for the first two years, and fifteen percent for the subsequent four years. Tax credits issued under the act shall not be refundable, but may be carried forward to any of the five subsequent tax years, as described in the act. No more than $16 million dollars in tax credits shall be authorized in a given calendar year.

A rural fund wishing to accept investments as capital investments shall apply to the Department of Economic Development. The application shall include the amount of capital investment requested, a copy of the applicant's license as a rural business or small business investment company, evidence that the applicant has made at least $100 million in investments in nonpublic companies located in counties throughout the United States with a population less than fifty thousand, evidence that the applicant has made at least $30 million in investments in nonpublic companies located in Missouri, and a business plan that includes a revenue impact statement projecting state and local tax revenue to be generated by the applicant's proposed qualified investments, as described in the act. The rural fund shall also submit a nonrefundable application fee of $5,000.

The Department shall grant or deny an application within sixty days of receipt. The Department shall deny an application if such application is incomplete or insufficient, if the revenue impact assessment does not demonstrate that the business plan will result in a positive economic impact on the state over a ten year period, or if the Department has already approved the maximum amount of capital investment authority.

Rural funds shall use capital investments made by investors to make qualified investments, as defined in the act, in eligible businesses. An eligible business is a business that, at the time of the qualified investment, has fewer than two hundred fifty employees, has its principal business operations in the state, is not an alien, foreign entity, or foreign government, and is engaged in certain industries, as described in the act.

The Department may recapture tax credits if the rural fund does not invest sixty percent of its capital investment authority in qualified investments within two years of the date of the capital investment, and one hundred percent of its capital investment authority within three years, if the rural fund fails to maintain qualified investments equal to ninety percent of its capital investment authority in years three through six, as described in the act, if prior to exiting the program or thirty days after the sixth year, the rural fund makes a distribution or payment that results in the fund having less than one hundred percent of its capital investment authority invested in qualified investments, or if the rural fund violates provisions of the act.

Rural funds shall submit annual reports to the Department, including the name and location of each eligible business receiving a qualified investment, the total number of new jobs, maintained jobs, new payroll, maintained payroll, new revenue, and maintained revenue by each eligible business receiving a qualified investment, a revenue impact assessment projecting state and local tax revenue generated and projected to be generated, and any other information required by the Department, as described in the act.

At any time after the sixth anniversary of the capital investment, a rural fund may apply to the Department to exit the program. The Department shall respond to such application within fifteen days. At the time a rural fund exits the program, it shall be required to make a distribution to the state, not to exceed ten percent of the amount of tax credits received, if the amount of state and local tax benefits generated by the rural fund's qualified investments are less than the amount of tax credits distributed to the rural fund.

These provisions shall sunset on August 28, 2030, unless reauthorized by the General Assembly. (Sections 620.3500 to 620.3530)

These provisions are identical to SS/SB 802 (2024) and to provisions in HCS/SS/SCS/SB 92 (2023), as amended, and SS#3/HCS/HB 268 (2023), as amended, and is substantially similar to HCS/HB 959 (2023), 675 (2022), HB 1885 (2022), SCS/SB 465 (2021), HB 1361 (2021), SB 724 (2020), SCS/SB 477 (2019), HB 1230 (2019), and HB 1236 (2019), and to provisions in HCS/SS/SCS/SB 92 (2023), SB 644 (2022), SB 1091 (2022), SCS/SB 750 (2022), and SS/SCS/HB 948 (2021).

JOSH NORBERG