Mo. Rev. Stat. § 94.579 — MO Code / Chapter 94 / Section 94.579
94.579 Sales tax authorized — ballot language — use of moneys — repeal of tax, ...
Status: in_force

94.579. Sales tax authorized — ballot language — use of moneys — repeal of tax, ballot language — continuation of tax, ballot language. — 1. The governing body of any home rule city with more than one hundred fifty-one thousand five hundred but fewer than one hundred fifty-one thousand six hundred inhabitants is hereby authorized to impose, by order or ordinance, a sales tax on all retail sales made within the city which are subject to sales tax under chapter 144 . The tax authorized in this section shall not exceed one percent, and shall be imposed solely for the purpose of providing revenues for the operation of public safety departments, including police and fire departments, and for pension programs, and health care for employees and pensioners of the public safety departments. The tax authorized in this section shall be in addition to all other sales taxes imposed by law, and shall be stated separately from all other charges and taxes. The order or ordinance shall not become effective unless the governing body of the city submits to the voters residing within the city at a state general, primary, or special election a proposal to authorize the governing body of the city to impose a tax under this section. If the tax authorized in this section is not approved by the voters, then the city shall have an additional year during which to meet its required contribution payment beyond the time period described in section 105.683 . If the city meets its required contribution payment in this time, then, notwithstanding the provisions of section 105.683 to the contrary, the delinquency shall not constitute a lien on the funds of the political subdivision, the board of such plan shall not be authorized to compel payment by application for writ of mandamus, and the state treasurer and the director of the department of revenue shall not withhold twenty-five percent of the certified contribution deficiency from the total moneys due the political subdivision from the state. The one-year extension shall only be available to the city on a one-time basis.

2. The ballot of submission for the tax authorized in this section shall be in substantially the following form:

If a majority of the votes cast on the question by the qualified voters voting thereon are in favor of the question, then the tax shall become effective on the first day of the second calendar quarter immediately following notification to the department of revenue. If a majority of the votes cast on the question by the qualified voters voting thereon are opposed to the question, then the tax shall not become effective unless and until the question is resubmitted under this section to the qualified voters and such question is approved by a majority of the qualified voters voting on the question.

3. All revenue collected under this section by the director of the department of revenue on behalf of any city, except for one percent for the cost of collection which shall be deposited in the state's general revenue fund, shall be deposited in a special trust fund, which is hereby created and shall be known as the "Public Safety Protection Sales Tax Fund", and shall be used solely for the designated purposes. Moneys in the fund shall not be deemed to be state funds, and shall not be commingled with any funds of the state. The director may make refunds from the amounts in the trust fund and credited to the city for erroneous payments and overpayments made, and may redeem dishonored checks and drafts deposited to the credit of such city. Any funds in the special trust fund which are not needed for current expenditures shall be invested in the same manner as other funds are invested. Any interest and moneys earned on such investments shall be credited to the fund. The director shall keep accurate records of the amounts in the fund, and such records shall be open to the inspection of the officers of such city and to the public. Not later than the tenth day of each month, the director shall distribute all moneys deposited in the fund during the preceding month to the city. Such funds shall be deposited with the treasurer of the city, and all expenditures of moneys from the fund shall be by an appropriation ordinance enacted by the governing body of the city.

4. On or after the effective date of the tax, the director of revenue shall be responsible for the administration, collection, enforcement, and operation of the tax, and sections 32.085 and 32.087 shall apply. In order to permit sellers required to collect and report the sales tax to collect the amount required to be reported and remitted, but not to change the requirements of reporting or remitting the tax, or to serve as a levy of the tax, and in order to avoid fractions of pennies, the governing body of the city may authorize the use of a bracket system similar to that authorized in section 144.285 , and notwithstanding the provisions of that section, this new bracket system shall be used where this tax is imposed and shall apply to all taxable transactions. Beginning with the effective date of the tax, every retailer in the city shall add the sales tax to the sale price, and this tax 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. For purposes of this section, all retail sales shall be deemed to be consummated at the place of business of the retailer.

5. All applicable provisions in sections 144.010 to 144.525 governing the state sales tax, and section 32.057 , the uniform confidentiality provision, shall apply to the collection of the tax, and all exemptions granted to agencies of government, organizations, and persons under sections 144.010 to 144.525 are hereby made applicable to the imposition and collection of the tax. 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 director of revenue may prescribe a form of exemption certificate for an exemption from the tax. All discounts allowed the retailer under the state sales tax for the collection of and for payment of taxes are hereby allowed and made applicable to the tax. The penalties for violations provided in section 32.057 and sections 144.010 to 144.525 are hereby made applicable to violations of this section. If any person is delinquent in the payment of the amount required to be paid under this section, or in the event a determination has been made against the person for the tax and penalties under this section, the limitation for bringing suit for the collection of the delinquent tax and penalties shall be the same as that provided in sections 144.010 to 144.525 .

6. The governing body of any city that has adopted the sales tax authorized in this section may submit the question of repeal of the tax to the voters on any date available for elections for the city. The ballot of submission shall be in substantially the following form:

If a majority of the votes cast on the question by the qualified voters voting thereon are in favor of repeal, that repeal shall become effective on December thirty-first of the calendar year in which such repeal was approved. If a majority of the votes cast on the question by the qualified voters voting thereon are opposed to the repeal, then the sales tax authorized in this section shall remain effective until the question is resubmitted under this section to the qualified voters and the repeal is approved by a majority of the qualified voters voting on the question.

7. The governing body of any city that has adopted the sales tax authorized in this section shall submit the question of continuation of the tax to the voters every five years from the date of its inception on a date available for elections for the city. The ballot of submission shall be in substantially the following form:

If a majority of the votes cast on the question by the qualified voters voting thereon are opposed to continuation, repeal shall become effective on December thirty-first of the calendar year in which such continuation was failed to be approved. If a majority of the votes cast on the question by the qualified voters voting thereon are in favor of continuation, then the sales tax authorized in this section shall remain effective until the question is resubmitted under this section to the qualified voters and continuation fails to be approved by a majority of the qualified voters voting on the question.

8. Whenever the governing body of any city that has adopted the sales tax authorized in this section receives a petition, signed by a number of registered voters of the city equal to at least two percent of the number of registered voters of the city voting in the last gubernatorial election, calling for an election to repeal the sales tax imposed under this section, the governing body shall submit to the voters of the city a proposal to repeal the tax. If a majority of the votes cast on the question by the qualified voters voting thereon are in favor of the repeal, the repeal shall become effective on December thirty-first of the calendar year in which such repeal was approved. If a majority of the votes cast on the question by the qualified voters voting thereon are opposed to the repeal, then the sales tax authorized in this section shall remain effective until the question is resubmitted under this section to the qualified voters and the repeal is approved by a majority of the qualified voters voting on the question.

9. If the tax is repealed or terminated by any means, all funds remaining in the special trust fund shall continue to be used solely for the designated purposes, and the city shall notify the director of the department of revenue of the action at least ninety days before the effective date of the repeal and the director may order retention in the trust fund, for a period of one year, of two percent of the amount collected after receipt of such notice to cover possible refunds or overpayment of the tax and to redeem dishonored checks and drafts deposited to the credit of such accounts. After one year has elapsed after the effective date of abolition of the tax in such city, the director shall remit the balance in the account to the city and close the account of that city. The director shall notify each city of each instance of any amount refunded or any check redeemed from receipts due the city.

(L. 2007 S.B. 406, A.L. 2015 H.B. 517 & 754)