Commission Debates Putting Use Tax Up For Vote

Crawford County commissioners are considering putting a use tax on the April ballot, approval of which would clear the way for an ordinance.

A use tax is a sales tax imposed on the purchase of goods by a Missouri resident from an out-of-state vendor. 

Missouri imposes a state use tax at 4.225 percent, which is identical to the state’s retail sales tax. Missouri allows jurisdictions to impose their own use taxes. The use tax is not applicable to vehicle, most title properties or real estate.

Bourbon voters approved a use tax in April 2022. 

County commissioners on Jan. 7 called in Prosecuting Attorney David Smith to explain how it would work.

Smith noted that it is mainly for goods, “not for services.”

He also said a Missouri statute provides the ballot language. “I’ve seen nothing that allows you to amend that language,” Smith said. “There are restrictions on what can be done to promote the ballot measure. It doesn’t prohibit efforts to get out the word…but you can’t use public sources of funding to promote it.”

District 1 Commissioner Mark Pfeiffer asked if there was a “ballpark figure” on revenue. 

“If we’re going to the public, it’d be nice to have an idea of where the money is going,” Pfeiffer said. “If we bring it to them with specific allocations it’s a better sell.”

District 2 Commissioner Jared Boast said that, if passed, the county should spend it respectfully. 

“It should be based on the needs of the county,” he said. “I never brought this up with the intention of bringing it to just the road districts or sheriff’s department.”

Boast said every couple of years, residents suggest imposing a tourism tax. Commissioners in the past and present have been resistant to that tax.

“Seventy-five percent of the tax has to fund state tourism,” Boast said. “The other 25 percent is split up between first responder entities in the county. It’s a minimalistic type of revenue gain. All we’re doing is collecting more money for state tourism.”