PIKE COUNTY, MO USE TAX PROPOSAL HEADED TO APRIL BALLOT

PIKE COUNTY, MO — Voters in Pike County, Missouri will decide this April whether to implement a proposed use tax aimed at capturing revenue from out-of-state and online purchases. The measure, listed as Proposition L, would apply a tax at the same rate as the county’s current sales tax—3.0625 percent—to qualifying purchases made outside Missouri but used within the county.

A use tax is designed to offset lost local revenue when goods such as vehicles, construction materials, and equipment are purchased from out-of-state vendors that may not collect local sales tax. Missouri already collects a statewide use tax at 4.225 percent, but Pike County currently does not receive all applicable local revenue tied to those transactions.

Supporters say the proposal would help level the playing field for local businesses that are required to collect sales tax, while also helping the county recover an estimated $100,000 in lost revenue following a recent Missouri Supreme Court decision. Funds generated from the tax could be used to support road and bridge maintenance, law enforcement, and courthouse operations, and could help reduce the need for future tax increases.

If approved, the tax would typically be collected by out-of-state vendors with a Missouri presence and distributed back to Pike County through the Missouri Department of Revenue. In some cases, individual purchasers may be required to file a use tax return if the seller does not collect the tax.

The ballot question asks voters whether the county should receive the same “internet tax” rate as its sales tax, with any future changes to the sales tax automatically applying to the use tax as well.

More than 80 counties across Missouri—including nearby Marion, Ralls, Monroe, Audrain, and Montgomery counties—have already adopted similar use taxes.