Red state bill could zero out tax burden for donors to pro-life pregnancy centers
Missouri residents donating to pregnancy resource centers that do not provide abortions could enjoy significant reductions in their state tax bill if a new GOP bill passes into law.
SB 681, sponsored by state Sen. Jill Carter, a Republican, would establish a 100% tax credit for such donations beginning in 2026, up from a 70% credit for the years 2021 to 2025. Essentially, for every dollar donated, one dollar would be deducted from the taxpayer's annual income tax obligation.
"I think states that are Republican-led are racing to try to figure out how to get more tax dollars back to their communities," Carter told Fox News Digital in an interview Friday. "So, we don't want to shift the burden necessarily to the taxpayer, but to incentivize people being able to say, 'with my own dollars, I want to invest in these women who are community members,' and in supporting those things that they also value."
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Under Carter's bill, taxpayers can claim up to $50,000 in tax credits each year for donations of at least $100, with any unused credits carrying over to the next year. SB 681 also removes the previous $3.5 million cap on total credits that could be claimed for fiscal years up to 2021. The same bill was introduced in the state House, which passed the tax reform committee last month in a key legislative hurdle.
"We're trying to help people support the values that they believe in by being able to personally invest instead of government doing it for them," Carter said. "I think that's a strong conservative Republican policy and position."
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Carter added that Republicans are "in a really transformative stage right now with politics and policy" when it comes to more pro-life options.
In a written testimony submitted to the state House legislature, Alissa Gross, the CEO of Resource Health Services that runs four pregnancy centers in Missouri and a virtual office in Kansas, wrote, "The impact of the tax credits on our organization has been profound."
"We have seen our budget increase dramatically and in return, our ability to impact more men and women for life as well as build healthy families has been substantial," Gross wrote. "We are so grateful for this opportunity and are hopeful for the increase so our reach can grow into the KC area and beyond."
Written testimony submitted by Cindy Speer, a board member and volunteer client advocate at Oasis Resource Center, wrote that her pregnancy center "just completed a debt-free 5000-square-foot center due in large part to the Missouri tax credit."
"Our next phase is housing for these women, many of whom are unable to afford, let alone find a place for themselves and their baby," Speer wrote. "This would be revolutionary in helping guide these women to become productive citizens who can then become role models for their children."
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Other written testimonies opposing the bill say they didn't want their tax dollars going toward "unregulated, anti-abortion pregnancy centers" that discourage women from having abortions.
The bill comes after Missouri voters enshrined an abortion amendment into their state constitution – becoming the first state to overrule a near-total abortion ban – during the November general election. Abortion providers have recently resumed their services, which had been outlawed since 2022, but a slew of pro-life bills introduced at the start of the legislative session in January are still coming down the pipeline for consideration.
The package of bills includes two proposed constitutional amendments. The first would ban abortion again, allowing exceptions only for medical emergencies, cases involving fetal anomalies, and certain instances of rape or incest, provided patients present the necessary documentation. A public hearing on the measure was held last month.
Other bills under consideration include a proposal to reclassify the abortion drug mifepristone as a Class IV controlled substance, similar to a Republican-led law passed in Louisiana last year. Another proposed amendment aims to make abortion illegal after a fetus reaches viability, typically around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Other bills introduced in the state target the timing of abortions, including House Bill 194, which would ban the procedure once a fetal heartbeat is detected. Attorney General Andrew Bailey vowed after the election to continue enforcing the abortion ban after fetal viability.
"Under the express terms of the amendment, the government may still protect innocent life after viability," Bailey wrote. "The statutes thus remain generally enforceable after viability."
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Several other states also passed abortion amendments in November, including Arizona, Colorado, Maryland and Montana.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January, titled the "Enforcing the Hyde Amendment," which revokes two 2022 executive orders from the Biden administration that had expanded access to abortion services. By reinstating the Hyde Amendment, the executive order prohibits federal funding for elective abortions, aligning with long-standing policies that prevent taxpayer dollars from being used for abortions.Original article source: Red state bill could zero out tax burden for donors to pro-life pregnancy centers
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