Missouri Senate

Introduced

USE TAX MAPPING

Current law requires the Department of Revenue to create and maintain a mapping feature on its website that displays various sales tax information. This act requires such mapping feature to include use tax information. (Section 32.310)

ECONOMIC NEXUS

Beginning October 1, 2020, this act provides that a vendor shall be considered to be engaging in business activities in this state if such vendor had cumulative gross receipts of at least $100,000 from the sale of tangible personal property for the purpose of storage, use, or consumption in this state in the previous twelve-month period, as described in the act. Vendors meeting such criteria shall be required to collect and remit the use tax as provided under current law.

Eighty percent of the use tax revenue collected from remittances made pursuant to this provision shall be deposited in the School Transportation Fund, which is created by the act, to fund school district transportation costs pursuant to current law. The remaining twenty percent of use tax revenues shall be deposited in the County Jail Reimbursement Fund, which is created by the act, to fund reimbursements made to counties for certain jail costs as provided under current law. (Section 144.605)

TAXING JURISDICTION DATABASE

This act requires the Director of Revenue to provide and maintain a downloadable electronic database at no cost to the user of the database for taxing jurisdiction boundary changes and tax rates. Such databases may be directly provided by the Director, or may be provided by a third party as designated by the Director.

Vendors shall not be liable for reliance upon erroneous data provided by the Director on tax rates, boundaries, or taxing jurisdiction assignments. (Section 144.637)

LOCAL USE TAX BALLOT LANGUAGE

This act modifies ballot language required for the submission of a local use tax to voters by including language stating that the approval of the local use tax will eliminate the disparity in tax rates collected by local and out-of-state sellers by imposing the same rate on all sellers. (Section 144.757)

MARKETPLACE FACILITATORS

By January 1, 2022, marketplace facilitators, as defined in the act, that meet the use tax economic nexus threshold established in the act shall register with the Department to collect and remit sales and use tax on sales made into the state through the marketplace facilitator's marketplace by or on behalf of a marketplace seller, as defined in the act. Such retail sales shall include those made directly by the marketplace facilitator as well as those made by marketplace sellers through the marketplace facilitator's marketplace.

Marketplace facilitators shall report and remit sales and use tax collected under this act on a separate form developed by the Department. Marketplace facilitators properly collecting and remitting sales and use tax in a timely manner shall be eligible for any discount provided for under current law.

Marketplace facilitators shall provide purchasers with a statement or invoice showing that the sales and use tax was collected and shall be remitted on the purchaser's behalf.

No class action shall be brought against a marketplace facilitator in any court in this state on behalf of purchasers arising from or in any way related to an overpayment of sales or use tax collected on retail sales facilitated by a marketplace facilitator, regardless of whether that claim is characterized as a tax refund claim.

If the Department audits a marketplace facilitator, it shall only audit such facilitator and not the marketplace sellers on behalf of whom the marketplace facilitator facilitates sales.

Marketplace facilitators may apply to the Department for relief from liability for the failure to collect and remit the correct amount of sales or use tax on retail sales facilitated for marketplace sellers under certain circumstances, as described in the act. Relief from liability shall be a percentage of the sales and use tax collected by the marketplace facilitator, with such percentage being four percent for sales made during the 2022 calendar year, two percent for sales made during the 2023 calendar year, one percent for sales made during the 2024 calendar year, and zero percent thereafter.

The Department may grant a waiver from the requirements of the act if a marketplace facilitator demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Department that all of its marketplace sellers are already registered to collect and remit sales and use tax. If such waiver is granted, the sales or use tax due shall be collected and remitted by the marketplace seller. (Section 144.752)

This provision is substantially similar to a provision contained in SCS/SBs 46 & 50 (2019).

This act is substantially similar to SCS/SB 189 (2019).

JOSH NORBERG