New proposal could cut business fees in Missouri

Fees paid by Missouri businesses could become the overall lowest in the nation-that’s if legislation filed Tuesday by Senator Wayne Wallingford, on behalf of Secretary of State Jason Kander, is passed next year.

The proposal has bi-partisan support, and if the bill passes, it would make business filing costs much cheaper.

As it stands now, when a person starts a business, it can cost anywhere from $7-$100 to file the proper forms. This new legislation would make the costs $5 per file.

“The proposal is to reduce or eliminate fees down to the overall lowest in the nation by getting it down to just a simple processing fee,” Secretary of State Jason Kander told ABC 17 News.

Kander said it would eliminate a lot of the current fees for both existing and new businesses.

“Just about everything you can think of that we file in this office, whether it’s corporations, partnerships, LLCs, pretty much anybody who’s doing business in Missouri, or thinking about doing business in Missouri,” Kander said.

Kander said he and others have been working on the proposal over the last year because he wants to send the message that Missouri is the best place in the country to do business.

“I think it’s important that Missouri businesses have the opportunity to focus on growing their business, focus on working in their business and not having to deal with compliance and bureaucracy and that sort of thing,” he said.

Kander said he believes this will help small businesses and encourage people to go for their dreams.

The proposal not only has bi-partisan support, but also the support of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce.

In July, Kander kicked off an online business filing system to help businesses simplify the filing process.