March 9, 2021 - The Missouri House today gave first round approval to HB 554, sponsored by Rep. J. Eggleston, that addresses the economic nexus issue. For the non-tax professionals out there, that means taxes on internet purchases.
Missouri is one of just two states that has not addressed a U.S. Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., No. 17-494 (June 21, 2018). That case allows states to impose use taxes on internet sales made by sellers that have no physical location in that state.
As initially approved in the Missouri House, HB 554 contains the following provisions:
$100K gross receipts will establish nexus;
Immediate income tax reduction of .1% and adds one more .1% to the end of income tax cuts already scheduled in current law;
Requires a second vote for local use tax to apply in jurisdictions that have already approved it. The new votes would capture the remote sellers;
Standard marketplace facilitator language is included; and,
There are no provisions regarding Certified Service Providers and language allowing the Missouri Department of Revenue to join the Streamlined Sales Tax Project is removed.
A summary of the bill may be found at this link:
The main text of HB 554 remained intact (you may read the full text of the bill before the following amendments were adopted HERE). Only House Amendment 1 (HA 1) affected use taxes - a technical fix for the use tax distribution in St. Louis County and the Metropolitan Zoo District:
HA1 is a technical fix for the use tax distribution for St Louis Co & the zoo district;
HA2 is the local cable franchise tax change that has been worked out by municipal governments and cable companies. It phases down the cable franchise rate over time; and,
HA1 to HA2 is a prohibition against any new tax on satellite and streaming services.
The bill faces a final vote in the House and, if approved, will move to the Senate for further action.
Comments