Higher limit on franchise taxes

2009 legislative victories

Higher limit on franchise taxes. Gov. Jay Nixon hopefully will be signing economic development legislation that raises the threshold for paying the state franchise tax from $1 million in assets to $10 million. That means an estimated 12,000 Missouri businesses will no longer have to pay this onerous tax.

4-year ban on state agencies raising fees. Rep. Mike Dethrow’s economic development bill, the “Small Business Get Off My Back Act,” died in the Senate, but lawmakers did pass one of the bill’s most important provisions—a 4-year moratorium on fee increases by state agencies. What’s more, agencies now must certify that a new rule does not hurt companies with fewer than 25 employees. The only exceptions are federal regulations and changes made by the General Assembly.

Small business loans. Both the House and Senate voted unanimously to expand the Linked Deposit Program (formerly called MO Bucks). The program had been limited to businesses with 24 or fewer employees, but lawmakers raised the limit to 99 employees.

Paperwork reduction. We’ve worked for years with the secretary of state’s office to help reduce the paperwork burdens on Missouri businesses. This spring, lawmakers passed a bill allowing incorporated businesses to file mandatory paperwork with the secretary’s office every two years instead of annually. The bill also encourages businesses to file some documents electronically.