JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Rep. Anne Zerr, R-St. Charles, has sponsored HB 506, which is set to make it’s way out of the House.
The bill allows the tax credit for wine production to also be used for the purchase of used equipment as well as for new equipment, which supporters say will ensure the success of the tax credit by allowing smaller start-up growers and producers to take advantage of the credit by buying used equipment which is more cost effective.
Zerr said the bill does two things: includes used equipment and sets a cap at $1 million. The tax credit does not currently have a cap, but is used at about $60,000 yearly.
“Back in 1998, when it started, there were thirty wineries and 100 growers and accounted for 3% of the wine market in Missouri,” Zerr told The Missouri Times. “Now, in 2014, there are 141 wineries and Missouri wine takes up 9% of the state’s wine market. The winery business has grown from a $40 million industry in 1998 to a $1.6 billion industry.”
According to Zerr, the tax credit would grow a second generation of the industry because the 1998 bill grew the first generation.
“Now, the startups from 1998 need bigger equipment,” Zerr said. “If the current start ups can buy the equipment from the big guys with this tax credit, we can grow a second generation. It’s good for business.”
Missouri’s wine industry now boasts more than 140 wineries and provides more than 14,000 jobs, according to the Missouri Wine and Grape Board.
The bill unanimously made it out of the Economic Development and Business Retraction Committee and the Select Committee on Commerce.
The Missouri Grape and Wine Alliance supported the bill in committee, while Todd Skelton testified against.
The opponent of the bill opposed it due to a fundamental opposition against tax credits, saying the tax credits interfere with private industry.
The bill is currently on the House calendar for perfection.
Rachael Herndon was the editor at The Missouri Times and also produced This Week in Missouri Politics, published Missouri Times Magazine, and co-hosted the #MoLeg podcast. She joined The Missouri Times in 2014, returning to political reporting after working as a campaign and legislative staffer.
Rachael studied at the University of Missouri – Columbia. She lives in Jefferson City with her husband, Brandon, and their two children.
