644
Opinion of the Court
paralleled by statutory and state constitutional provisions providing for use taxes of 4%, one-eighth of one percent, and one-tenth of one percent, respectively, on the "privilege of storing, using or consuming" within the State any article of personal property purchased outside the State. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 144.610(1) (1986); Mo. Const., Art. IV, §§ 43(a), 47(a).1 Thus, under these various provisions, the State imposes a statewide sales tax of 4.225% on sales of goods within the State and a statewide use tax of 4.225% on goods brought into the State after being purchased elsewhere. These taxes are not challenged here.
The State also imposes an "additional use tax" of 1.5% on the privilege of storing, using, or consuming within the State any article of personal property purchased outside the State. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 144.748 (Supp. 1993).2 This use tax is not paired with any sales tax at the state level. The State, however, authorizes political subdivisions, including counties and incorporated municipalities, to impose a local sales tax.3 Over 1,000 localities have used that authority to enact sales taxes ranging from 0.5% to 3.5%, while at least one county has no local sales tax at all.
Petitioner Associated Industries of Missouri is a trade association representing businesses that operate in Missouri and businesses that sell to customers in Missouri. Out-of-state members of the organization must collect the additional
1 Although the use taxes literally apply to all products to be used, stored, or consumed in the State, § 144.615(2) provides an exemption for all goods subject to the Missouri sales tax—that is, goods purchased within the State—and the constitutional provisions incorporate by reference the same exemption. See Mo. Const., Art. IV, §§ 43(a), 47(a).
2 Section 144.748(2) incorporates by reference the same exemption contained in § 144.615(2). See n. 1, supra. Because only the 1.5% additional use tax imposed by § 144.748, not the 4.225% use tax described above, is at issue in this case, references below to the "use tax" should be understood to refer to the 1.5% additional use tax.
3 See, e. g., Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 66.600-66.630; 67.500-67.545; 92.400-92.420; 94.500-94.510; 94.600-94.655; 94.700-94.745 (1986 and Supp. 1993).
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