Cape Girardeau County use tax won't be on November ballot

Cape Girardeau County commissioners on Monday decided that a use-tax question will not appear on the November ballot.

The commission will continue considering whether to place a question on the ballot in April.

Associate Commissioner Charlie Herbst said input during a public hearing Friday and encouragement from chamber of commerce directors in Cape Girardeau and Jackson to wait to put a use tax to a vote are reasons the commission decided not to take action.

A use tax has been considered by the county as laws regarding local governments' abilities to collect sales taxes on out-of-state vehicle purchases and other goods costing more than $2,000 have changed. A use tax, if passed by voters, would allow the county to collect a 1 percent tax on those items in lieu of sales tax indefinitely. A law signed by Gov. Jay Nixon this summer reinstated local governments' ability to collect those taxes after a court ruling last year invalidated the practice. But the law says voters have to approve local use taxes before 2016, or they can't be collected.

The Missouri Department of Revenue describes a "use tax" as a tax "imposed directly upon the person that stores, uses, or consumes tangible personal property in Missouri." Use tax does not apply if the purchase is from a Missouri retailer and subject to Missouri sales tax, according to the department. Governments also cannot require out-of-state companies that do not have nexus or a "direct connection" with the state to collect and remit use tax, according to the department. If an out-of-state seller does not collect use tax from the purchaser, the purchaser is responsible for paying the use tax to Missouri.

About 55 city and county governments in Missouri have a use tax. That number has grown through approval of local ballot questions since the 2012 ruling. Voters in Perry and Bollinger counties passed use taxes in April, as did voters in Perryville. Stoddard County voters passed a use tax earlier this month. In Scott County, a use tax ballot question failed in April.

Placement of a use tax question on the November ballot in Cape Girardeau County would have required the commission's approval before the Wednesday ballot certification deadline. April now is looking like a more likely option for the question to go before voters, mostly, Herbst said, because waiting until then gives the county enough time to work with the chambers of commerce and other community partners to educate voters about the use tax issue. About 15 people who attended a public meeting held by the county Friday were opposed to a use tax.

Jackson city officials, who also were weighing whether to place a use-tax question on the ballot in November, have decided to forgo that date. The city, Mayor Barbara Lohr said Monday, doesn't want to spend money to hold an election on its own, and educational points the city and county governments hope to get across to voters are the same.

Supporters of a use tax say it will "level the playing field" for businesses, since a draw for consumers who live in a community without a use tax is to buy across state lines to save money on taxes.

Cape Girardeau's city council last week also decided not to place a use tax question on the November ballot. Any voter-approved use taxes would be equal to the amount of a city or county's general sales tax.

The state already has a use tax, meaning it collects a 4.225 percent tax on purchases of vehicles and other items across state lines.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

1 Barton Square, Jackson, Mo.