HB 991 -- Distressed Areas Land Assemblage Tax Credit Act

Sponsor:  Jetton

This bill establishes the Distressed Areas Land Assemblage Tax
Credit Act which authorizes, beginning January 1, 2008, a tax
credit equal to 50% of the costs and 100% of the interest
incurred for the acquisition of an eligible parcel of land.
Eligible parcels must be located within an eligible project area
and must be acquired before the applicant begins condemnation
proceedings.  Parcels acquired by the applicant from a municipal
authority are not included.  Applicants can receive these credits
for up to five years after the land's acquisition and can be used
to offset the applicant's income tax, corporate franchise tax, or
financial institutions tax.  The tax credit may be carried
forward for up to six years or sold.

No more than $12 million tax credits can be issued annually, and
no more than $100 million can be issued for the life of the
program.  If applications for the tax credit exceed $12 million
in any given year, the Department of Economic Development can
issue the entire amount to one applicant if there is only one
eligible applicant or on a pro rata basis to all the eligible
applicants.  Any eligible amount which is not issued because of
the $12 million annual limit will be carried forward and reserved
for the benefit of the applicant in future years.

Eligible project areas must meet the following requirements:

(1)  In cities or villages with fewer than 75,000 residents, the
area must include at least 30 acres and 75 acres for all other
cities and counties.  Individual parcels which do not constitute
eligible parcels may be included within the area's boundaries;

(2)  At least 80% of the area must be located within a Missouri
qualified census tract area as designated by the United States
Department of Housing and Urban Development;

(3)  In cities or villages with fewer than 75,000 residents, at
least 20 acres of the area must consist of eligible parcels.  For
all other cities and counties, the requirement is 50 acres.  In
either case, the parcels are not required to be contiguous;

(4)  In cities or villages with fewer than 75,000 residents, the
average number of parcels per acre must be at least two and
one-half and four for all other cities; and

(5)  For all cities and counties, less than 5% of the acreage
within the area's boundaries must consist of owner-occupied
residences which the applicant has identified for acquisition.

For cities and villages with fewer than 50,000 residents, these
requirements can be modified or waived if deemed necessary by the
department.

An applicant is any person or company which has incurred
acquisition costs for land which meets the requirements described
for an eligible project area and who has been appointed or
selected by a municipal authority as a redeveloper to redevelop
an urban renewal area, a redevelopment area that includes all of
an eligible project area, or whose redevelopment plan or
redevelopment area has been approved or adopted under a Missouri
economic incentive act.

The provisions of the bill will expire six years from the
effective date.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated July 25, 2007 at 11:21 am