JEFFERSON CITY — Gov. Mike Parson is set to take a victory lap after the Missouri Senate signed off on the last piece of an election-year package of tax cuts and tax incentives Tuesday.
The governor is scheduled to sign the legislation in his office Wednesday morning, bringing an end to a special session that saw lawmakers approve a phased-in series of income tax cuts worth more than $1 billion, as well as a series of tax credits benefiting rural Missouri agricultural interests.
Senate President , R-Sullivan, called Tuesday’s vote on the farm incentives a “big win for rural Missouri.â€
Senate Majority Floor Leader , R-Columbia, said the issue had broad support in the House and Senate.
People are also reading…
“We’re walking out of here with our heads held high,†Rowden said.
Tuesday’s bipartisan 26-3 vote in the Senate marked the final vote of the special session, which Parson had sought after he vetoed legislation in June that would have sent tax rebate checks worth up to $500 to taxpayers.
He also vetoed tax credits for farmers because they only ran for two years.
What he received in return is an income tax rate that will fall from its current 5.3% rate to 4.5% over a period of years if state revenues grow.
And, the Bolivar cattle farmer won the battle to extend 10 tax credits for the agriculture industry for six years, which he says gives farmers the proper amount of time to make financial plans. The estimated cost to state coffers is set at $40 million.
Republicans and Democrats backed the plan.
“I support this legislation because I realize the agriculture industry touches every aspect of life. I think this makes sense,†said Sen. , D-Kansas City.
The tax credits include assistance to the ethanol industry, which uses corn to make ethanol used in gasoline. Retailers selling a 15% blend of corn-based ethanol would receive a 5-cents-per-gallon credit capped at a total of $5 million per year.
Biodiesel producers, who use soybean oil to create fuel, would get a credit of 2 cents per gallon.
Meat processors who employ fewer than 500 workers could receive a credit of up to 25% of the cost of expanding their facilities.
A program meant to boost urban farms would offer credits worth up to $25,000 to establish farms in communities of 50,000 people or more.
The legislation also would expand government loan programs for farmers in the state.
Floor debate on the issue served as a preview of what might be discussed next year when the Legislature returns for its regular session.
Sen. , for example, was unsuccessful in an attempt to add an amendment that would have limited foreign ownership of Missouri farmland.
“We need to protect our land,†the Ash Grove Republican said.
Sen. , R-Weldon Spring, who is exploring a run for governor, also filed a bill Tuesday phasing out personal property taxes, which typically are taxes on motor vehicles. He acknowledged it would go nowhere in the special session, but said he wanted to alert people that it would come up again in January.
Senate Minority Leader , D-Independence, told reporters that he wants lawmakers to legalize sports betting in order to stop Missourians from going to surrounding states to spend their money on wagers.
The tax credit legislation is .