HS/SS/SB 981 - On March 26, 1996 the Missouri Supreme Court held Section 144.748, RSMo, the local use tax, to be unconstitutional. A use tax is collected on goods which are bought out of state and used in-state, such as purchases made from catalogs, magazines, infomercials and purchases by corporations from out of state vendors.

ELECTIONS - This act deletes Section 144.748 and authorizes counties and municipalities to submit, at the August election or after December 31, 1996, the question of imposing a local use tax to be set at the same rate as the local sales tax. Any change in the local sales tax rate shall have the same effect on the use tax rate. If adopted in August, such use tax shall become effective on October 1, 1996. If adopted after 1996, the use tax takes effect on the first calendar quarter beginning at least 45 days after the Director of Revenue receives notice.

USE OF REVENUES - Money raised by a local use tax, less a one percent collection fee, shall be collected by the state and disbursed to the county or municipality generating the local use tax. However, the disbursement of money to St. Louis County shall be as follows:

(1) A portion of the use tax which equals the county transportation sales tax shall be distributed to the Bi-State Development Agency of the Missouri-Illinois Metropolitan District to be used to provide the local share of construction costs for additional light rail lines;

(2) One third of the remaining balance due the county shall be distributed to the county;

(3) The remainder shall be distributed to Group B cities and to Group A cities whose per capita sales tax receipts for the preceding calendar year were below the Group A average per capita sales tax receipts. These Group A cities shall only participate in this distribution until each such city's per capita sales tax receipts equals the Group A average.

REPEAL - A repeal of the local sales shall cause the local use tax to also be repealed. Upon receipt of a petition signed by at least 15% of the registered voters voting at the last gubernatorial election, the governing body shall submit a question to repeal the local use tax.

This act has an Emergency Clause.
TOM CRAWFORD