Missouri Supreme Court strikes down stacking sales taxes on marijuana

Matthew Sanders

Opinion in marijuana sales tax caseDownload

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled local governments cannot stack their marijuana sales taxes on top of each other.

The ruling, issued Tuesday, prohibits local governments from imposing taxes in incorporated areas where a local sales tax already exists. For example, a county can’t charge marijuana sales tax at a shop inside a city where the city already charges such taxes.

The case stemmed from a lawsuit brought in St. Louis County, where the City of Florissant and the county had each imposed 3% sales taxes.

The owners of Robust Missouri Dispensary 3 LLC sued the county, alleging the tax stacking was unconstitutional. Missouri voters authorized sales taxes for recreational marijuana in November 2022 when they voted to legalize non-medical pot.

Boone County has been charging stacked sales taxes, with both the City of Columbia and Boone County charging 3%, the maximum allowed under law. The state also charges a 6% tax.

The court ruled Tuesday that the county can’t charge the tax in a city where it’s already collected. It overruled a lower court ruling in doing so.

Check back for updates to this developing story.

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