April 27, 2007 - Thanks to the hard work of dedicated sponsors and support of many business-friendly legislators, tax legislation proposed and drafted by Associated Industries of Missouri and the Taxpayers Research Institute of Missouri is alive and well as the 2007 legislative session enters its final three weeks.Rep. Bryan Stevenson, second from the left in this picture, added our top tax priority, the exemption of manufacturing inputs from sales and use taxes, to Senate Bill 30, a bill sponsored by Assistant Majority Floor Leader Senator Gary Nodler. The bill is in conference, meaning legislators will negotiate the final language of the bill. The bill must then be approved by both the House and Senate before it may be sent to the Governor. The cost of the AIM/TRIM manufacturing inputs exemption has been exaggerated by some. See Ray McCarty's letter to the editor of the Southeast Missourian, which addresses the true cost of this legislation.
Also, Rep. Mike Sutherland included AIM/TRIM legislation addressing net operating loss problems caused by decoupling from the federal tax code several years ago in a committee substitute for SB 582. The bill was approved by Sutherland's Ways and Means Committee and will be eligible for debate by the full House. The bill's sponsor is Senator Wes Shoemyer. AIM and TRIM thank both for allowing this legislation to be included in this bill.
House Bill 327, an omnibus economic development bill, also contains the AIM/TRIM manufacturing inputs sales tax exemption and will be the subject of a conference committee meeting on Tuesday, May 1. We have been working closely with the sponsor of the legislation to be sure the exemption is included in the final bill. HB 327 is sponsored by Rep. Ron Richard and handled in the Senate by Senator John Griesheimer.
And House Bill 131, sponsored by Rep. Shannon Cooper, has been heard in the Senate committee. Rep. Cooper initially sponsored both of these priority bills and is responsible for their inclusion in all of the bills mentioned above. We thank him and all the other legislators involved in the various bills for allowing our tax priorities to be considered for final passage.
Several of these bills contained a change in the "nexus" standard proposed by one business group that would allow out-of-state companies to unfairly compete with Missouri businesses without incurring tax liability in the state. Objections from Associated Industries of Missouri, the Taxpayers Research Institute of Missouri, the Missouri Retailers Association and state officials have led to the removal of this unfair provision from consideration this legislative session.
With three weeks to go in the 2007 legislative session, please check back often for updates on the progress of these and other priorities of the Taxpayers Research Institute of Missouri.
