Sales tax up for vote in St. Martins

St. Martins residents will vote April 4 on whether the city will continue collecting a sales tax on the titling of motor vehicles.

In 2012, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled sales taxes could not be collected on vehicles purchased out of state. After that ruling, the Legislature passed a bill, approved by the governor, allowing government bodies to collect a sales tax on out-of-state purchases. The Legislature had said communities had until the end of 2016 to have their residents vote on this, but then approved an extension until November 2018.

"It's not a new tax ," St. Martins City Administrator Doug Reece said. "It has been around since 1989, and this is letting us continue to collect it on the out-of-state motor vehicles that are purchased and titled in Cole County."

The measure on the ballot notes "approval of this measure will not result in a reduction of local revenue to provide for local services for St. Martins and it will not place Missouri dealers of motor vehicles at a competitive disadvantage."

If the measure fails, the city could lose approximately $10,000-$15,000 each year.

"Right now, if you want an automobile from a local or out-of-state dealer, you have to license it and pay our local tax," Reece said. "All the city is trying to do is maintain its revenue stream at the level it has been up to this point.

"We don't have a real estate tax, but we do have a small sales tax," Reece continued. "Our total budget is around $225,000 so if you took this away, that would be pretty sizable amount."