Marijuana sales tax issues unresolved as Missouri voters head to the polls next week
There are disagreements about whether or not cities and counties can "stack" the taxes.
INDEPENDENCE - As voters in Missouri head to the polls a week from today, many will decide on whether or not to add a 3% local tax to recreational marijuana sales.
That would be on top of the 6% the state currently collects. 30 cities across the metro have the issue on the ballot and so do Cass and Jackson Counties.
So, if both a county and city within the county pass the tax, would people purchasing recreational marijuana be taxed at 6%?
The legality of that, depends on who you ask. According to an email today from a Jackson County spokesperson, if passed, their tax "will be collected in unincorporated areas and in municipalities within counties."
But those in the marijuana industry say the language passed by voters last November and now in the Missouri Constitution prohibits cities and counties from "stacking" taxes on recreational marijuana.
"Article 14 of the Missouri Constitution specifies that sales that take place inside the city limits can be taxed by the municipality, whereas sales that take place in unincorporated areas can be taxed by the county. Efforts to stack these taxes would be unconstitutional," said Jack Cardetti, spokesperson for MoCannTrade, in a statement.
Cardetti pointed to the definition of a "local government" in Article 14 as the reason why the taxes can't be stacked. Local government is defined as: "in the case of an incorporated area, a village, town, or city and, in the case of an unincorporated area, a county."
The Missouri Department of Revenue initially agreed, writing in a letter to political subdivisions on February 1st, "based on the constitutional language, a city and a county cannot “stack” the additional up to 3% local tax on recreational marijuana sales."
But a little more than a week later, reversed course, and said the department "will not advise municipalities or counties regarding the possibility or stacking" because the language in the constitution is, "ambiguous."
In their second letter, the Department of Revenue left the door open for legal challenges, writing, "If necessary, courts are tasked with interpreting constitutional language."
While the fight will likely extend beyond election day next week, it may not affect tax collections. Local taxes wouldn't be collected until October 1st, leaving a few months to figure out the issue.
