Missouri Revised Statutes § 238.235 - Sales tax, certain districts, exemptions from tax — election, ballot form — procedures for collection, distribution, use — repeal of tax — not considered economic activity tax

238.235. Sales tax, certain districts, exemptions from tax — election, ballot form — procedures for collection, distribution, use — repeal of tax — not considered economic activity tax. — 1. (1) Any transportation development district may by resolution impose a transportation development district sales tax on all retail sales made in such transportation development district which are subject to taxation pursuant to the provisions of sections 144.010 to 144.525, except such transportation development district sales tax shall not apply to the sale or use of motor vehicles, trailers, boats or outboard motors nor to all sales of electricity or electrical current, water and gas, natural or artificial, nor to sales of service to telephone subscribers, either local or long distance. Such transportation development district sales tax may be imposed for any transportation development purpose designated by the transportation development district in its ballot of submission to its qualified voters, except that no resolution enacted pursuant to the authority granted by this section shall be effective unless: (a) The board of directors of the transportation development district submits to the qualified voters of the transportation development district a proposal to authorize the board of directors of the transportation development district to impose or increase the levy of an existing tax pursuant to the provisions of this section; or (b) The voters approved the question certified by the petition filed pursuant to subsection 5 of section 238.207. (2) If the transportation district submits to the qualified voters of the transportation development district a proposal to authorize the board of directors of the transportation development district to impose or increase the levy of an existing tax pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (a) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, the ballot of submission shall contain, but need not be limited to, the following language: (3) The sales tax authorized by this section shall become effective on the first day of the second calendar quarter after the department of revenue receives notification of the tax. (4) In each transportation development district in which a sales tax has been imposed in the manner provided by this section, every retailer shall add the tax imposed by the transportation development district pursuant to this section to the retailer's sale price, and when so added such tax shall constitute a part of the price, shall be a debt of the purchaser to the retailer until paid, and shall be recoverable at law in the same manner as the purchase price. (5) In order to permit sellers required to collect and report the sales tax authorized by this section to collect the amount required to be reported and remitted, but not to change the requirements of reporting or remitting tax or to serve as a levy of the tax, and in order to avoid fractions of pennies, the transportation development district may establish appropriate brackets which shall be used in the district imposing a tax pursuant to this section in lieu of those brackets provided in section 144.285. (6) All revenue received by a transportation development district from the tax authorized by this section which has been designated for a certain transportation development purpose shall be deposited in a special trust fund and shall be used solely for such designated purpose. Upon the expiration of the period of years approved by the qualified voters pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection or if the tax authorized by this section is repealed pursuant to subsection 6 of this section, all funds remaining in the special trust fund shall continue to be used solely for such designated transportation development purpose. Any funds in such special trust fund which are not needed for current expenditures may be invested by the board of directors in accordance with applicable laws relating to the investment of other transportation development district funds. (7) The sales tax may be imposed in increments of one-eighth of one percent, up to a maximum of one percent on the receipts from the sale at retail of all tangible personal property or taxable services at retail within the transportation development district adopting such tax, if such property and services are subject to taxation by the state of Missouri pursuant to the provisions of sections 144.010 to 144.525, except such transportation development district sales tax shall not apply to the sale or use of motor vehicles, trailers, boats or outboard motors nor to public utilities. Any transportation development district sales tax imposed pursuant to this section shall be imposed at a rate that shall be uniform throughout the district. 2. The resolution imposing the sales tax pursuant to this section shall impose upon all sellers a tax for the privilege of engaging in the business of selling tangible personal property or rendering taxable services at retail to the extent and in the manner provided in sections 144.010 to 144.525, and the rules and regulations of the director of revenue issued pursuant thereto; except that the rate of the tax shall be the rate imposed by the resolution as the sales tax and the tax shall be reported and returned to and collected by the transportation development district. 3. On and after the effective date of any tax imposed pursuant to this section, the director of revenue shall perform all functions incident to the administration, collection, enforcement, and operation of the tax, and the director of revenue shall collect, in addition to all other sales taxes imposed by law, the additional tax authorized pursuant to this section. The tax imposed pursuant to this section and the taxes imposed pursuant to all other laws of the state of Missouri shall be collected together and reported upon such forms and pursuant to such administrative rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the director of revenue. 4. (1) All applicable provisions contained in sections 144.010 to 144.525, governing the state sales tax, sections 32.085 and 32.087 and section 32.057, the uniform confidentiality provision, shall apply to the collection of the tax imposed by this section, except as modified in this section. (2) All exemptions granted to agencies of government, organizations, persons and to the sale of certain articles and items of tangible personal property and taxable services pursuant to the provisions of sections 144.010 to 144.525 are hereby made applicable to the imposition and collection of the tax imposed by this section. (3) The same sales tax permit, exemption certificate and retail certificate required by sections 144.010 to 144.525 for the administration and collection of the state sales tax shall satisfy the requirements of this section, and no additional permit or exemption certificate or retail certificate shall be required; except that the transportation development district may prescribe a form of exemption certificate for an exemption from the tax imposed by this section. (4) All discounts allowed the retailer pursuant to the provisions of the state sales tax laws for the collection of and for payment of taxes pursuant to such laws are hereby allowed and made applicable to any taxes collected pursuant to the provisions of this section. (5) The penalties provided in section 32.057 and sections 144.010 to 144.525 for violation of those sections are hereby made applicable to violations of this section. (6) For the purpose of a sales tax imposed by a resolution pursuant to this section, all retail sales except retail sales of motor vehicles shall be deemed to be consummated at the place of business of the retailer unless the tangible personal property sold is delivered by the retailer or the retailer's agent to an out-of-state destination or to a common carrier for delivery to an out-of-state destination. In the event a retailer has more than one place of business in this state which participates in the sale, the sale shall be deemed to be consummated at the place of business of the retailer where the initial order for the tangible personal property is taken, even though the order must be forwarded elsewhere for acceptance, approval of credit, shipment or billing. A sale by a retailer's employee shall be deemed to be consummated at the place of business from which the employee works. 5. All sales taxes received by the transportation development district shall be deposited by the director of revenue in a special fund to be expended for the purposes authorized in this section. The director of revenue shall keep accurate records of the amount of money which was collected pursuant to this section, and the records shall be open to the inspection of officers of each transportation development district and the general public. 6. (1) No transportation development district imposing a sales tax pursuant to this section may repeal or amend such sales tax unless such repeal or amendment will not impair the district's ability to repay any liabilities which it has incurred, money which it has borrowed or revenue bonds, notes or other obligations which it has issued or which have been issued by the commission or any local transportation authority to finance any project or projects. (2) Whenever the board of directors of any transportation development district in which a transportation development sales tax has been imposed in the manner provided by this section receives a petition, signed by ten percent of the qualified voters calling for an election to repeal such transportation development sales tax, the board of directors shall, if such repeal will not impair the district's ability to repay any liabilities which it has incurred, money which it has borrowed or revenue bonds, notes or other obligations which it has issued or which have been issued by the commission or any local transportation authority to finance any project or projects, submit to the qualified voters of such transportation development district a proposal to repeal the transportation development sales tax imposed pursuant to the provisions of this section. If a majority of the votes cast on the proposal by the qualified voters voting thereon are in favor of the proposal to repeal the transportation development sales tax, then the resolution imposing the transportation development sales tax, along with any amendments thereto, is repealed. If a majority of the votes cast by the qualified voters voting thereon are opposed to the proposal to repeal the transportation development sales tax, then the ordinance or resolution imposing the transportation development sales tax, along with any amendments thereto, shall remain in effect. 7. Notwithstanding any provision of sections 99.800 to 99.865 and this section to the contrary, the sales tax imposed by a district whose project is a public mass transportation system shall not be considered economic activity taxes as such term is defined under sections 99.805 and 99.918 and shall not be subject to allocation under the provisions of subsection 3 of section 99.845, or subsection 4 of section 99.957. (L. 1990 S.B. 479 & 649 § 49, A.L. 1997 S.B. 303, A.L. 2001 H.B. 202, A.L. 2003 H.B. 668, A.L. 2009 H.B. 191, A.L. 2011 S.B. 173)