JEFFERSON CITY (Feb. 28, 2025) – Following the House’s passage of HB 269, a bill introduced by Rep. Brenda Shields that will help Missouri parents access affordable childcare and enter the job market, NFIB State Director Brad Jones called on the Senate to stand up for small business owners and support the bill.

“Our small business owners have job openings they desperately want filled. In fact, a recent NFIB jobs report found that 35 percent of small businesses have an open position that they cannot fill. Increasing access to affordable childcare is a huge piece of the workforce puzzle – allowing more Missourians to enter the workforce and our small businesses to create good-paying jobs. We thank Rep. Shields for introducing this measure and her colleagues in the House who supported it and ask the Senate to swiftly follow suit.”

Background:

According to a recent NFIB jobs report, 35% of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in January.

HB 269 aims to help Missouri parents find affordable childcare and enter the job market by creating a few new tax credits:

• Child Care Contribution Tax Credit – This tax credit for parents as proposed in the bill would be equal to 75% of the cost of payments made to a childcare provider.
• Employer Provided Child Care Assistance Tax Credit – This tax credit for employers with two or more employees is equal to 30% of child care expenditures paid to cover employee childcare costs, up to $200,000.
• Child Care Providers Tax Credit – This tax credit for child care providers with three or more employees amount to the child care provider’s eligible employer withholding tax, and may also claim a tax credit in an amount up to 30% of the child care provider’s capital expenditures.