Tax deductions and less red tape are coming your way.
Session Ended with 4 Small Business Victories
Big
Government Get Off My Back Act
House
Bill 1870, the small business incentive bill, passed the Legislature late in
session. The bill extends the provisions of the Big Government Get Off My Back
Act, which originated in 2009 and expired in 2014. Under HB 1870, the state may
not impose any user fees on small businesses with 50 or fewer employees, and
small businesses will receive an income tax deduction for each new employee
they hire and pay at least the county average wage. Businesses will receive a
$10,000 deduction for each new full-time job or $20,000 if the full-time job
comes with a health insurance benefit and 50 percent of the premium covered by
the business.
The
bill will go into effect Aug. 28, 2016, and expire Dec. 31, 2020.
Annual
Withholding
House
Bill 1582 passed on the last day of session and after five years of trying. The
bill will help approximately 8,000 of Missouri’s smallest businesses by
allowing them to file their employee withholding taxes annually, rather than
quarterly. This reduces time and red tape for business owners and reduces
paperwork for the Department of Revenue. We thank Rep. Mike Kelley and Sen.
Will Kraus for helping get this measure passed for small businesses!
Expert
Witness Reform
Senate
Bill 591 would adopt the Daubert standard for the vetting process of expert
witnesses in the Missouri judicial system. Under the Daubert standard—which is
used by federal courts and most other states—evidence can only be admitted as
expert testimony if it has been deemed relevant, reliable, and has been
provided by qualified individuals. Unfortunately, the trial bar worked hard to
kill this bill with false claims that this standard would expand judges’
workload and slow down cases, which means there is a strong chance Gov. Jay
Nixon will veto the bill.
Collateral
Source
Senate
Bill 847 would prevent plaintiffs from recovering an amount of medical expenses
that they never paid or owed. For example, if someone buys a $500 suit on sale
for $200 and then needs to return the suit, they are not going to get $500
back, but the $200 they actually paid. However, in the Missouri health
insurance market, scenarios like this are happening, with plaintiffs recovering
the hypothetical $500. SB 847 would stop this costly double-dipping practice,
but the trial lawyers also worked hard to kill this bill and unfortunately,
Gov. Jay Nixon is likely to veto it.
Stay
tuned for the NFIB Missouri voting record and see how well your legislators
stood up for small business.
