Legislative session brings gains for small firms

After a three-year legislative journey, Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan has finally seen the Red Tape Reduction Act become law.

The act aims to save businesses time and money when filing corporate registration reports.

"Every year it ended up passing in both the House and the Senate and being put in some larger omnibus bill, often a judiciary bill or an economic development bill, that toward the end of the session would die for one reason or another," Carnahan said. "Finally this year we got it done."

The act was approved as part of the judiciary bill HB 481, sponsored by Timothy Jones, R-St. Louis County, and signed into law July 10 by Gov. Jay Nixon.

Report reduction

Beginning Jan. 1, 2010, Missouri businesses will have the option of filing their corporate registration reports with the Secretary of State's Office every two years instead of annually, and businesses also can change the month of their filings to match tax and other paperwork deadlines, saving time and money for the 400,000-plus businesses on file with the state. The fee for filing annual reports online by corporations is $20, compared to $45 for paper filings.

The addition of the biennial filing option was just common sense, Carnahan said. If the law can be changed so that people only have to get their cars licensed every two years, she said, "Why is it we can't do the same thing for your business registration?"

Also, starting Aug. 28, limited liability corporations that file online will see a 57 percent reduction in filing fees, which drops to $45 from $105, according to Ryan Hobart, deputy director of communications for the Secretary of State's Office.

"Today, 80 percent of our business filings that happen are done online, and that saves time and money for small businesses," Carnahan said, adding that, under her tenure, small businesses have saved $7 million in reduced fees by filing online.

Online registration filings for corporations began in May 2003 under then-Secretary of State Matt Blunt; online filings for limited liability companies began under Carnahan in August 2005.

While the Red Tape Reduction Act isn't a game changer and won't have a huge impact on business, "I think it's a step in the right direction," said Ted Amberg, CEO of Springfield-based Amberg Entertainment.

"It is nice that not only can you do it every other year now, but being able to change the month you do it to the same time you do your taxes or other filings, it's a time saver," he added.

"Time savers are moneymakers."

Since Carnahan took office in January 2005, Missouri businesses overall have saved almost $10 million through online filings - and that doesn't include savings of taxpayers'money.

"We don't have to have folks sitting around opening envelopes and dealing with checks and making deposits and re-entering information. It all gets put in immediately, in real time, at a much-reduced cost," Carnahan said.

Although it was not a top priority for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, the chamber was "very supportive" of the Red Tape Reduction Act, said Sandy Howard, chamber vice president of public affairs.

"Essentially, it will help the growth of small businesses by cutting red tape and just streamlining the process for them," she said.

Development and disappointment

The chamber's own legislative coup was the 11th-hour hour passage of HB 191, sponsored by Tim Flook, R-Clay County. HB 191 is an economic development bill that:

• increases the cap of the Missouri Quality Jobs program, which provides tax credits to employers who create new jobs with health benefits and higher-than-average wages, to $80 million from $60 million;

• increases the cap on the New Markets Tax Credit program, which provides incentives for capital for small businesses in low-income and underserved communities to $25 million from $15 million;

• expands the state's job training programs to include pre-employment training; and

• eliminates the corporate franchise tax on companies with assets of $10 million or less.

But the legislative session had its disappointments, as well. In particular, Howard said, the chamber had hoped for passage of the Angel Investor Tax Credit, which is designed to spur small-business growth by creating advanced technology jobs in the state.

"With all that's happening at Jordan Valley Innovation Center, the research that's being done, and the need to move into the commercialization phase," the chamber saw the Angel Investor Tax Credit as a way to increase jobs at small, high-tech firms and keep business investment local, Howard said.

The tax credit was included in various economic development bills throughout the session, but not in HB 191. The chamber will take the issue up again next session.

"We realize it's going to be an uphill battle in 2010, given the budget, but we feel like it's a very important initiative that would truly benefit Missouri businesses and, in particular, what's happening in our community," Howard said.[[In-content Ad]]