Use tax a vote for business fairness

It's a strange ask, this use tax issue.

We taxpayers are usually presented with a governmental or public need when a new or extended tax measure appears on our ballots. Increase a tax here, get better roads there. More taxes in exchange for new school buildings or new park improvements.

The use tax is a different animal.

The use tax will be on the ballot in the city and county of Cape Girardeau on April 8, as well as the city of Jackson.

Yet none of those entities is making a case for improved services. This one is about promoting local businesses.

Local jurisdictions, before a 2012 Supreme Court ruling, had been collecting local sales taxes on vehicle purchases for many decades. The sales tax was collected as a prerequisite to obtaining a license. It was expected. But the court ruling changed that. It said, basically, what local governments were collecting were not sales taxes, because those items were not purchased locally.

Those local jurisdictions were essentially charging a use tax on vehicles, and since use taxes had not been approved locally, the collections were deemed illegal by the court. Through some state legislative maneuvering, the sales taxes were put back into place temporarily until jurisdictions had a chance to put the use taxes on the ballot. If the local use taxes aren't passed, the sales taxes for out-of-state purchases will go away, but only for Cape Girardeau County, Jackson and Cape Girardeau. The Missouri tax portion of out-of-state purchases is unaffected, as the state of Missouri already has a use tax.

So here we are.

The question voters have to answer, is this: What is more important to me? Would I rather keep the ability to cross state lines and save money, or would I rather support local businesses by removing the incentive to buy things cheaper across the river?

There are other entities that could be affected by the absence of a use tax, but primarily we're talking about car sales here.

On a $30,000 car, a consumer could save as much as $1,200 if a use tax were defeated here. But what would that do to Cape Girardeau and surrounding communities?

The scores of car dealerships and thousands of employees who work there would be affected by the flight of consumers. Local businesses will be harmed by a negative vote on the use tax measures. What economic cost are voters willing to endure to preserve the ability to purchase tax-free things in other states?

The flip side of the coin is local governments will benefit from the use tax. Some of those details are laid out in our story today on the issue. On that side of the equation, we would hope local entities would look at ways to pass on incremental revenue benefits to their taxpayers, whether it be a corresponding reduction in property taxes or even a slight reduction in fees on services.

This tax, supported by chambers of commerce in Cape Girardeau and Jackson, is being presented as a way to help local businesses compete fairly with those across the river.

For that reason, we encourage you to vote in favor of the use tax on April 8.