1. As used in this section, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following terms shall mean:

(1) “Airport”, any publicly or privately owned facility located within Missouri through which cargo is transported by way of airplane to or from destinations outside the state and which handles cargo owned by third parties in addition to cargo owned by the airport’s owner;

(2) “Base year port cargo volume”, the total amount of net tons of noncontainerized cargo or twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo actually transported by way of a waterborne ship, waterborne vehicle, or airplane through a water port facility or airport during the period from January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2015. Base year port cargo volume shall be at least seventy-five net tons of noncontainerized cargo or ten loaded TEUs for a taxpayer to be eligible for the deductions claimed under this section. For a taxpayer that does not transport that amount in the year ending December 31, 2015, including a taxpayer who locates to Missouri after December 31, 2015, the base year port cargo volume will be measured by the initial January first through December thirty-first calendar year in which it meets the requirements of seventy-five net tons of noncontainerized cargo or ten loaded TEUs. Base year port cargo volume shall be recalculated each calendar year after the initial base year;

(3) “Major facility”, a new facility to be located in Missouri that is projected to import or export cargo through a water port facility or airport in excess of twenty-five thousand TEUs or the noncontainerized cargo equivalent in its first calendar year;

(4) “Port cargo volume”, the total amount of net tons of noncontainerized cargo or containers measured in TEUs of cargo transported by way of a waterborne ship, waterborne vehicle, or airplane through a water port facility or airport;

(5) “TEU” or “Twenty-foot equivalent unit”, a volumetric measure based on the size of a container that is twenty feet long by eight feet wide by eight feet, six inches high. If using weight as a measure, then one TEU shall equal sixteen tons of noncontainerized cargo; and

(6) “Water port facility”, any publicly or privately owned facility located within Missouri through which cargo is transported by way of a waterborne ship or vehicle to or from destinations outside the state and which handles cargo owned by third parties in addition to cargo owned by the water port facility’s owner.

2. (1) For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2017, but before January 1, 2023, a taxpayer engaged in the manufacturing of goods or the distribution of manufactured goods that uses water port facilities or airports in this state and increases its port cargo volume at these facilities by a minimum of five percent in a single calendar year over its base year port cargo volume shall be allowed to claim a deduction in an amount determined by the department. The department may waive the requirement that port cargo volume be increased by a minimum of five percent over base year port cargo volume for any taxpayer that qualifies as a major facility.

(2) Qualifying taxpayers that increase their port cargo volume by a minimum of five percent in a qualifying calendar year shall be allowed to claim a fifty dollar deduction for each TEU or the noncontainerized cargo equivalent above the base year port cargo volume. A qualifying taxpayer that is a major facility as defined in this section shall be allowed to claim a fifty dollar deduction for each TEU or the noncontainerized cargo equivalent transported through a water port facility or airport during the major facility’s first calendar year. A qualifying taxpayer shall not claim a deduction of more than two hundred fifty thousand dollars for each calendar year except as provided for in subdivision (2) of subsection 3 of this section. The maximum amount of deductions for all qualifying taxpayers under this section shall not exceed three million five hundred thousand dollars for each calendar year.

(3) The deduction may be claimed by the taxpayer as provided in subdivision (1) of this subsection only if the taxpayer owns the cargo at the time the water port facilities or airports are used.

3. (1) For every year in which a taxpayer claims the deduction, the taxpayer shall submit an application to the department by March first of the calendar year after the calendar year in which the increase in port cargo volume occurs. The taxpayer shall attach a schedule to the taxpayer’s application to the department with the following information and any other information requested by the department:

(a) A description of how the base year port cargo volume and the increase in port cargo volume were determined;

(b) The amount of the base year port cargo volume;

(c) The amount of the increase in port cargo volume for the tax year stated both as a percentage increase and as a total increase in net tons of noncontainerized cargo and TEUs of cargo, including information that demonstrates an increase in port cargo volume in excess of the minimum amount required to claim the deductions under this section; and

(d) Any deduction utilized by the taxpayer in prior years.

(2) The taxpayer shall claim the deduction on its income tax return in a manner prescribed by the department of revenue, and the department of revenue may require a copy of the certification form issued by a Missouri port authority or airport be attached to the return or otherwise provided.