Effective - 28 Aug 2003
67.700. Sales tax for capital improvements may be imposed in certain counties, procedure — use of revenue — tax effective when — brackets to be established — rate of tax — sales tax revenue collected, defined. — 1. Any county, as defined in section 67.724, may, by ordinance or order, impose a sales tax on all retail sales made in such county which are subject to taxation under the provisions of sections 144.010 to 144.525 for any capital improvement purpose designated by the county in its ballot of submission to its voters; provided, however, that no ordinance or order enacted pursuant to the authority granted by sections 67.700 to 67.727 shall be effective unless the governing body of the county submits to the voters of the county, at a county or state general, primary, or special election, a proposal to authorize the governing body of the county to impose a tax under the provisions of sections 67.700 to 67.727. The tax authorized by this section shall be in addition to any and all other sales taxes allowed by law.
2. The ballot of submission shall contain, but need not be limited to, the following language:
| Shall the county of ______ (county's name) impose a countywide sales tax at the rate of ______ (insert amount) for a period of ______ (insert number) years from the date on which such tax is first imposed for the purpose of ______ (insert capital improvement purpose)? | |
| ☐ YES | ☐ NO |
| If you are in favor of the question, place an "X" in the box opposite "YES". If you are opposed to the question, place an "X" in the box opposite "NO". | |
If a majority of the votes cast on the proposal by the qualified voters voting thereon are in favor of the proposal, then the ordinance or order and any amendments thereto shall be in effect. If a majority of the votes cast by the qualified voters voting are opposed to the proposal, then the governing body of the county shall have no power to impose the sales tax authorized by sections 67.700 to 67.727 unless and until the governing body of the county shall again have submitted another proposal to authorize it to impose the sales tax under the provisions of sections 67.700 to 67.727 and such proposal is approved by a majority of the qualified voters voting thereon.
3. All revenue received by a county from the tax authorized by sections 67.700 to 67.727 which has been designated for a certain capital improvement purpose shall be deposited in a special trust fund and shall be used solely for such designated purpose. Upon the expiration of the period of years approved by the voters under subsection 2 of this section or if the tax authorized by sections 67.700 to 67.727 is repealed under section 67.721, all funds remaining in the special trust fund shall continue to be used solely for such designated capital improvement purpose including the payment of principal and interest on any bonds issued to pay for such capital improvement. Any funds in such special trust fund which are not needed for current expenditures may be invested by the governing body in accordance with applicable laws relating to the investment of other county funds.
4. The sales tax may be imposed at a rate of one-eighth of one percent, one-fifth of one percent, one-fourth of one percent, three-eighths of one percent, or one-half of one percent on the receipts from the sale at retail of all tangible personal property or taxable services at retail within the county adopting such tax, if such property and services are subject to taxation by the state of Missouri under the provisions of sections 144.010 to 144.525.
5. In addition to the rates provided in subsection 4 of this section, any county of the first class without a charter form of government which adjoins a county of the first class containing part of a city containing more than three hundred fifty thousand inhabitants and which also adjoins a county of the third class having a township form of government shall also be authorized to (1) levy such sales tax at a rate of one-eighth of one percent; or (2) levy such sales tax at a rate of one-fourth of one percent in conjunction with a reduction in its property tax levy or levies for general revenues or for funding the maintenance of roads and bridges, or both, for each year in which the sales tax is imposed. Such reduction shall be in an amount sufficient to decrease the property taxes it will collect by not less than fifty percent of the sales tax revenue collected in the tax year for which the property taxes are being levied. If in the immediately preceding year a county actually collected less sales tax revenue than was projected for purposes of reducing its property tax levy or levies, the county shall adjust its property tax levy or levies for the current year to reflect such decrease. Any such county seeking voter approval of the sales tax alternative authorized in this subsection shall include in the ballot of submission authorized in subsection 2 of this section language clearly stating the appropriate percentage of the sales tax revenue shall be used for property tax reduction as provided herein. For purposes of this subsection, the term "sales tax revenue collected" shall have the meaning provided in section 67.500.
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(L. 1983 H.B. 269 & 514 § 1, A.L. 1985 H.B. 542, A.L. 1991 H.B. 29, S.B. 415, A.L. 1993 S.B. 157 & 29, A.L. 2000 S.B. 894, A.L. 2003 S.B. 522)
(2000) Suggested ballot language does not mandate a specific time limit, thus sales tax approved pursuant to this section without a time limit is valid. Hovis v. Daves, 14 S.W.3d 593 (Mo.banc).
(2002) Senate Bill 894 provision declared unconstitutional as a violation of the clear title requirement of Art. III, Section 23. Home Builders of Greater St. Louis v. State, 75 S.W.3d 267 (Mo.banc).