Lawyer sues Joplin, Mo., over sales taxes

JOPLIN, Mo. -- A Farmington, Mo., lawyer has added Joplin to a list of Missouri towns he has sued over what he says are illegal taxes.

Tom Burcham sued the city of Joplin last week, alleging that it could not collect a 1-cent general sales tax and a half-cent sales tax for public safety at the same time. Burcham is seeking an injunction to stop collection of the public safety tax.

Burcham has sued other Missouri towns in the past two years. He contends that state law limits cities to one, 1-cent sales tax for general purposes. He has lawsuits pending against Mount Vernon and Granby, and recently won a challenge to sales-tax issues in Purdy and Iberia.

Joplin city attorney Brian Head said Wednesday that the city followed Missouri Department of Revenue guidelines in enacting the public safety tax, which was approved by voters.