Nexus Most case law on the issue of nexus is based on federal and U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Nexus was founded as a fundamental due process, U.S. Constitutional requirement. The current standard is physical presence.
Descriptive language is employed to illustrate the application of use tax to vendors and consumers.
In reality, use tax is use tax. The purchaser is liable for use tax, but may be relieved from the liability of the tax only if given a receipt from a vendor who is authorized by the director of revenue to collect the tax. The vendor then becomes jointly and severally liable for the use tax if there is sufficient minimum contact with the taxing state. While the Missouri Supreme Court has never addressed this issue, the Colorado and Rhode Island Supreme Courts addressed it in their respective state's favor. The current legal standard for nexus is physical presence as opposed to economic presence.