News

By Rachel Lippmann

St. Louis County residents will decide next month whether to tax purchases on out-of-state purchases from Amazon and other online retailers.

“If it weren't for internet sales and purchases, we wouldn't even be having this conversation, because all of those items that are being bought online would then be bought locally,” said Pat Kelly, executive director of the Municipal League of Metro St. Louis, which is helping fund the campaign in support of Proposition U.

If voters say yes, the county would begin levying a use tax of about 3.5% on online purchases starting in January. The total amount charged would be equal to the local sales tax already in place. For example, someone who places an online order from their living room in Brentwood would pay about 9.7%, while someone making the same order in Eureka would pay about 8.2%.

Approval requires a simple majority from voters.

Estimates on how much the new tax could generate vary widely because there is no good data available on the out-of-state purchasing behavior of county residents and businesses, but both the Municipal League and county officials expect it to be at least $110 million.

The money will be divvied up among St. Louis County, the municipalities, the St. Louis Zoo and a number of other buckets including public safety, parks and children’s services. St. Louis County expects to receive at least $70 million per year into its general fund.

The legislation putting the use tax on the ballot passed the county council 6-1 in March. But not everyone was happy with the lack of specifics about where the money would go.

“I think use tax is going to be a hard pill to swallow for our communities,” said 4th District Councilwoman Shlonda Webb, D-St. Louis County. “I think our community members will want to know exactly where this additional tax money that they're going to be paying is going to go.”

There is no group that has organized to defeat the use tax, but some candidates in other races are working their opposition into their campaign messaging. For example, Dave Messner, the Republican candidate for county assessor, has posted about the use tax on his Facebook page and speaks about it when out campaigning.

Others including Maria Chappelle-Nadal, a Democrat running for the 1st District seat on the county council, and Republican county executive candidate Dennis Hancock offer their opinion when out knocking doors.

Chappelle-Nadal said she objects to having an additional tax when the cost of everything is going up. Hancock, R-Fenton, the lone member of the council to vote against placing the tax on the ballot, said he did not think the county had done enough to get its spending under control.

“I believe we need to demonstrate that we can effectively reduce spending in St. Louis County before we start asking for more revenue,” he said in March as the council considered the legislation. “There’s more ways to reduce spending than just making cuts. We can add efficiencies. We can do a lot of things differently.”

County voters rejected a use tax in 2022. Kelly said supporters are pushing the message that a use tax is not a new tax.

The committee funding the campaign received large donations from the Municipal League and St. Louis Realtors in May. It has not yet had to file a quarterly report showing additional donations and expenditures.