Mississippi governor signs Pregnancy Resources Act into law, offering tax credits

Tax credits to Mississippi businesses engaged in providing pregnancy resources is the focus of a new law Gov. Tate Reeves has signed.

The governor signed House Bill 1685, known as the Pregnancy Resource Act, which provides $3.5 million in tax credits to pregnancy resources centers across the state. The bill was signed before this week's leak of a U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion in Mississippi’s abortion case.

“We need to prove that being pro-life is about more than being anti-abortion,” Reeves said Wednesday on his official Facebook page. “We need to commit more to the mission of supporting mothers and children. We need to continuously improve our foster care system. We need to make it even easier to adopt a child. This is the mission now.

“We’ve made great strides on that in recent weeks."

He went on to highlight $3.5 million in tax credits for pregnancy resource centers; partnering with the Dave Thomas Foundation to improve foster care; and upgrading the core CPS functions to better serve moms and children.

"There is much more to be done,” Reeves said.

Under the new law, tax credits will be made available to taxpayers who operate a business as a commercial, industrial, or professional venture that is operating as a corporation, limited liability company, a partnership, or a sole proprietorship that supports pregnant mothers.

For taxpayers who are not operating as a corporation, according to the bill, the tax credit is permitted against ad valorem taxes assessed and levied on real property for each voluntary cash contribution made during a tax year. Those donations must be contributed to an eligible charitable organization.

The tax credits issued under the new law are not to exceed 50% of the total tax liability for taxes and an amount not to exceed 50% of the total tax liability of the taxpayer for ad valorem taxes that are assessed and levied on real property.

Plus the new law provides that any tax credit that is claimed but it not used in the tax year it was claimed can be carried over for not more than five years, according to the bill. In addition, any contribution that is claimed as a tax credit can’t be used as a deduction on state income taxes.

The new law also provides a cap on tax credits that during any calendar year the credits can’t exceed $5 million and no more than 50% of the tax credits allocated during a calendar year can be allocated for contributions to charitable organizations.

In calendar year 2021, the aggregate of tax credits is not to exceed $10 million, $16 million in 2022, and $18 million in 2023 and beyond.