In an effort to attract amateur sporting events to the state of Missouri, the St. Louis Sports Commission, with the help of others, lobbied for a third straight year to receive state funding. As the saying goes, the third time is a charm. Governor Nixon signed the Amateur Sporting Events Tax Credit earlier this year, taking effect August 28th.
Organizers of an amateur sporting event are required to front expenses themselves or solicit private funding from local corporations. Due to combination of high costs and the economic instability, it is difficult to raise corporate funds to cover the costs of an event. In 2009, St. Louis hosted the Women’s Basketball Final Four and the event’s local organizers tapped into their financial reserves by about $500,000.
With the newly approved state tax credit, Missouri will be able to better compete with other markets to host sporting events. Event owners are more comfortable awarding tournaments to cities knowing money is available to offset event expenses. The state of Missouri has earmarked a total of $3 million in tax credits to dish out if an organization brings a sporting event to the region. The state will issue certified-sponsors a refundable tax credit of $5 per ticket (capped at $3 million) if they bring events to Missouri through a competitive bid. Entities should now be more inclined to help fund amateur sporting events. In addition to generating additional revenue from the event(s) itself, individual and corporations will also see a reduction in their tax liability.
Only time will tell; but hopefully St. Louis will now be able to lure more amateur sporting events to the city. If you have any questions related to the new Amateur Sporting Events Tax Credit, please contact your Anders tax professional.
