Missouri law provides tax credits for rail work and food production

Eligible rail businesses may claim a state tax credit for certain track work or new rail infrastructure. Eligible businesses include certain smaller railroads and owners or lessees of rail sidings, industrial spurs, or industry tracks in Missouri. The credit equals half of qualifying costs and is nonrefundable. Limits apply based on track miles or project costs, and yearly credit limits are allocated in claim order. Qualifying costs must be incurred in a tax year beginning on or after January 1, 2027. Unused credits may carry forward for up to five following tax years.

Fuel sellers and producers may claim state tax credits tied to qualifying fuel sales or production. The provisions cover Missouri fuel distributors, retail sellers, and qualifying Missouri biodiesel producers. Credits cover qualifying higher-ethanol fuel sold to a final user, biodiesel blends sold at retail or directly to a final user, and biodiesel produced by qualifying Missouri producers. Each credit has its own yearly limit. The ethanol and biodiesel sales credits are nonrefundable; the producer credit is refundable. The text provides for these credits for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2023. The higher-ethanol and biodiesel sales programs are scheduled to end December 31, 2033, unless lawmakers renew them.

Eligible meat processors and taxpayers with urban farms may claim credits for certain facility or farm costs. Meat processors must own a Missouri facility and employ fewer than 500 people across their meat processing facilities in the country. Urban farms must be in a Census-defined urban area; personal farms and residential lots for personal use are excluded. Meat processors may claim 25 percent of qualifying costs, subject to per-taxpayer and yearly limits, after authority approval. If the work fails to increase production within three years, repayment may be required under rules set by the authority. Urban farm credits cover half of eligible costs, exclude labor, and are limited by the taxpayer's tax due and per-farm caps. Farms must produce food for public sale or donation; the authority must recapture credits if a farm is used for the taxpayer's personal benefit. Meat facility costs must be paid in tax years ending on or before December 31, 2033; applications are filed at the end of the year a project is completed. The urban farm credit applies to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2023, and its program is scheduled to end December 31, 2033, unless renewed.

Family farmers may seek approved loans for certain specialty-crop farming supplies and equipment. The program is for Missouri-resident family farmers with less than $100,000 in annual agricultural sales. It covers supplies and equipment for specialty crops, but not medical marijuana or industrial hemp. A farmer must first get lender approval, and the authority must also approve the loan. A family may receive only one loan, capped at $35,000; it cannot cover more than 90 percent of planned costs, and the lender cannot charge interest for the first year. The authority may charge a one-time review fee of 1 percent. An eligible lender may receive a tax credit for the first year's waived interest, subject to a yearly limit. The text schedules the loan program to end December 31, 2033, unless lawmakers renew it. The lender tax credit covers only the first year's waived interest.