TAXING CONSUMERS RETROACTIVELY DEFIES FAIRNESS

Tomorrow may come and go like any day. But by day's end, you may become a lawbreaker in the eyes of the state.

The reason is an individual consumer use tax return. The tax isn't new. But Governor Mel Carnahan's administration is making a new effort to collect it by including this form in this year's Missouri tax return.

But here's the catch. Your tax return is due April 15. Your consumer use tax return is due Jan. 31. Chances are many people won't even open their forms until they greet their tax preparer months from now.

A variety of sales are targeted by this tax including catalog purchases, magazine subscriptions, goods you personally bought in another state, TV shopping networks -- literally any purchase from out-of-state companies that have not registered with the state of Missouri to collect sales tax. Only tangible products are taxed -- gift certificates don't count.

We understand the concern by businesses and government. Some people making big ticket purchases on furniture, computers, etc. are saving more 5.75 percent in sales tax. It could be deemed a mail-order incentive. The Carnahan administration worries about lost revenues -- estimated over $50 million in Missouri.

But there must be a better way to collect the tax than to put the burden on consumers.

It's easy for consumers to remember the tax on big ticket items, but just as easy to forget for smaller purchases. Policing will be a nightmare as a whole new layer of bureaucracy could pop up for enforcement.

The Department of Revenue has even claimed that it has the power to require out-of-state mail-order companies to turn over lists of Missouri customers, and will do so if need be. While we are unsure if this would be constitutional, we find the mere suggestion Orwellian.

No doubt those with political aspirations or under public scrutiny will be the first in line to pay. "Nannygate" has toppled more than one public official in recent months at the federal level. Federal nominations of Zoe Baird, Kimba Wood and even Robert Inman were scotched by unpaid babysitting taxes. This innocuous tax could be the next giant slayer.

But what about regular people? Retroactive taxes are not just irksome -- they bring a paperwork nightmare. Not everyone can remember each purchase by mail or TV shopping channel last year, much less have handy access to receipts.

Businesses have routinely paid a use tax in Missouri since June of 1959. But not consumers because the state was not privy to sales records.

But a recent court case appears to have changed the rules. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that most mail-order houses cannot be forced to collect the tax. Only those with a store or other "presence" in the state can be forced to levy state taxes. Thus, the collection has fallen to the states again.

Many taxpayers aren't taking the news too well, and at least one legislator has moved to exempt Missourians. Rep. M. Zane Yates, R-Oakville, is proposing a bill to exempt consumers from the tax unless their mail-order purchases top $2,500 a year.

If you miss tomorrow's deadline, don't panic.

Payments are "voluntary" this year. The state will gladly take the money even if you miss the deadline. But the niceties won't last. The heavy hand of the law will come down in January of 1995 for all purchases made this year.

Get your calculator ready. The tax owed can be figured by computing 5.725 percent of the purchase price. However, the state will allow the deduction of any sales tax paid to other states. And that information won't be listed on credit card bills -- customers will typically have to go back to original receipts, if they can be found.

Here's another twist of tax fate. It still applies even if the product never crosses Missouri's border. If you buy a gift out of state and send it directly to someone in another state, get ready to pay the tax.

These days of retroactive taxes are hard to stomach. How can we plan for tomorrow when we're not even sure about yesterday? The Carnahan administration may contend this is not a new tax, but most consumers would beg to differ. It will mean dollars from our pockets and a cloud of uncertainty hanging overhead. If the state is serious about the consumer use tax, then it should come up with a more practical way to collect it.