Village of Theodosia puts ‘use tax’ measure on ballot


The Village of Theodosia holds its meetings at 5:30 p.m. every first Monday of the month at the Village Hall, off Highway 160 in Thedosia.

Registered voters who reside within the Theodosia city limits will have a chance to vote on the Village of Theodosia’s “use tax” measure on Election Day Aug. 6. The measure asks voters to impose a local use tax at the same rate as the total local sales tax rate. It also indicates that if the local sales tax rate is reduced or raised by voter approval, the local use tax rate shall also be reduced or raised by the same action.

Village of Theodosia Chairman John Maglione said that after the “use tax” measure passed for Ozark County this spring, he spoke with Western District Commissioner Layne Nance and State Rep. Travis Smith, both who encouraged the Village to put it on the ballot. “They told us that [most of the time] it’s already being collected, and we just need to ask for it to be distributed to us,” he said. “Being a small village, if we can find revenue, we have to try to take advantage of it.” 

He said the Village has no idea how much money the use tax measure would bring in for Theodosia, but he expects whatever funds did come in would be dedicated to their two biggest priorities, city roads and modernizing the Theodosia sewer system. 

He invited residents to attend the Village of Theodosia meetings, held at 5:30 p.m. every first Monday of the month at Village Hall to be informed on village business. Meetings are open to the public. 

Theodosia Village Clerk Rachel Amos explained that the combined sales tax for goods purchased within Theodosia city limits is 8.23%, but of that, it’s only 1.5% that goes to the Village of Theodosia. The rest goes to other entities, including the state of Missouri and Ozark County.

The city sales tax of 1.5%, is collected on goods purchased at brick-and-mortar businesses inside Theodosia city limits. If approved, the ballot measure would allow the Village to receive that sales tax revenue from goods purchased online as well.

As an example, a $10 package of paper towels purchased at Cash Saver Pantry in Theodosia (or any other store in Theodosia city limits) would have 83 cents in sales tax added. The Village of Theodosia would receive 15 cents of the 83 cents to use for its sewer systems, roads and other expenditures.

Currently, the Village of Theodosia is unable to receive sales tax for goods and services purchased online or in catalogs because a “use tax” measure has not been passed there. So, while the city would receive 15 cents in tax for the $10 package of paper towels purchased at Cash Saver Pantry, it would receive no sales tax revenue for the online purchase of the same product at the same price.

So does that mean that local residents in Theodsia aren’t paying the tax? Not necessarily. When locals have broken down their sales tax receipts for online purchases, they show that some retailers are charging the full 8.23%, while others are not including the 1.5% Theodosia Village tax. 

There have been differing reports on how often the full sales tax is being charged online, with some saying most of their receipts include it and others saying they mostly only see the state and county’s percentages charged. It likely depends on the retailers where residents frequently shop. 

To calculate your own receipts from online purchases to determine the percentage of tax, take the amount of sales tax and divide it by the total purchase before tax. Then multiply by 100. (For example: $3.68 in tax divided by the $86.98 pre-tax total = .00423 X 100 = 4.23%).

While the tax is thought to be collected, at least sometimes, maybe frequently, there is no way of knowing how much money is being brought in. 

In preparation for passing the use tax in the county earlier this year, Ozark County officials said then that the money remains in a state account until three years passes and it’s considered unclaimed property and absorbed by the state. They’ve asked state officials numerous times how much money was in the account, but they say they can’t get a clear answer. If the “use tax” measure is passed, that money would go back to the Village of Theodosia.

The county put the use tax on the ballot two times before it was passed during the April 6 General Municipal Election. It had failed in 2020 and again in 2022, before it was voted in this year. 

The city municipalities of Gainesville and Bakersfield are also able to put the “use tax” measure on the ballot for their city sales tax, but so far, neither entity has chosen to do so.

Ozark County Times

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