Local chambers cheer Wayfair passage in Missouri legislature

The Missouri House and Senate this week easily passed their own versions of Wayfair legislation -- with lawmakers winning high marks from two chambers of commerce in Cape Girardeau County.

The twin votes came Thursday in the GOP-dominated General Assembly and mark the furthest movement a statewide internet sales tax initiative has ever come to winning approval in Jefferson City.

Both bills now go to a joint House-Senate conference committee to attempt reconciliation of the measures before final passage.

The respective initiatives are not identical but have in common permitting the state to impose a sales tax on online purchases under certain conditions, a practice already adopted by 43 other states.

John Mehner

"This is encouraging (news)," said John Mehner, Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce president & CEO.

"We're one of the very, very few states with a sales tax that has not addressed this (Internet) issue," he added.

Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce president Brian Gerau also cheered the legislative action, noting Wayfair is sometimes a hard sell because of its complexity.

Brian Gerau

"Trying to educate everybody on Wayfair takes a long time (and) it's very detailed," said Gerau, "It has not been easy to educate the entire region of the benefits of the Wayfair tax."

House Bill 554 passed 96-59 with Republicans Wayne Wallingford (R-147/Cape Girardeau), Barry Hovis (R-146/Whitewater), Jamie Burger (R-148/Benton) and Rick Francis (R-145/Perryville) all voting in the affirmative.

Senate Bill 153 sailed through the upper chamber on a 28-4 tally, with Sen. Holly Rehder (R-27/Scott City) among the handful voting no.

"Small businesses in our area are telling me they would have to spend more money to comply with big government under this bill," said Rehder, whose district takes in Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Madison, Mississippi, Perry and Scott counties.

"(SB 153) grows government's size substantially just for management, while costing our small business owners more money than they will make from it (with) the end result appearing to shake out as more taxes from us just to pay for more bureaucracy," she said.

Sponsors

Andrew Koenig (R-15/St. Louis County) was the Senate sponsor.

"Right now, without Wayfair, we have an incentive for people to make purchases from non-Missouri businesses (and) just from a tax standpoint, that's one of the worst things you can have in tax code," Koenig told reporters.

The House bill sponsor, John Eggleston III (R-2/Maysville), expressed gratitude to his peers for advancing the legislation.

"I want to thank everybody for helping us get (Wayfair) to the point where we could agree on a way to help our small businesses throughout the state," he said in a statement.

Differences

The Senate version broadens the definition of "engaging in business activities within the state" and requires a use tax to be collected. The House version would allow local governments to subject online retailers to a use tax if voters in the area approve such a measure. Both bills also cut the individual income tax.

Parson

Gov. Mike Parson had previously called Wayfair a priority for this legislative session.

"I'm just thankful they (each) passed it in some form, some fashion," Parson told reporters.

The governor, elected to a full term in his own right last November, suggested the state would benefit from a new revenue stream.

"I know the argument always comes in of how are we going to spend the money or how do you make it revenue neutral, but I just want to start making the playing field fair for Missouri businesses that have to compete with out-of-state vendors. If there's ever a time to do (Wayfair), it's this year," he added.

History

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. in 2018 states could collect taxes on remote sales. In response, most U.S. states have approved legislation establishing an "economic nexus," or a taxable threshold, on online purchases.