Opinion ID: 1771648
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Inclusion of reimbursed costs

Text: As the parties stipulated, during both audit periods the use-tax base included certain production costs for which SMC was reimbursed by the individual vendors pursuant to separate advertising cooperative agreements between them. The stipulated amount of use tax allocable to the reimbursed costs is $81,493.00, plus interest of $49,392.00, in the First Audit Period, and $120,986.00, plus interest of $53,270.00, in the Second Audit Period. Plaintiff argues it was error to tax its gross, rather than its net, cost of production. This argument is unsupported by reference to persuasive statutory or decisional law. As previously noted, by express statutory language, the use-tax base is defined as the purchase or sales price, or value, without any reference to deduction for reimbursed costs that are ultimately recovered by the user. Sections 27-65-3(f) and (h); Section 27-67-5(a).
Statutes are presumed to be constitutional. Jones v. Harris, 460 So.2d 120 (Miss.1984). A statute will not be held unconstitutional unless the evidence is clear and convincing that it violates a constitutional limitation. Illinois Central Railroad Co. v. Williams, 242 Miss. 586, 135 So.2d 831 (1961).