Effective 28 Aug 2004

67.2530. Refund of district indebtedness, when, how — imposition of a sales tax authorized — deposit and use of sales tax revenue — repeal of sales tax, ballot form. — 1. Any note, bond, or other indebtedness of the district may be refunded at any time by the district by issuing refunding bonds in such amount as the district may deem necessary. Such bonds shall be subject to and shall have the benefit of the foregoing provisions regarding notes, bonds, and other obligations. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, refunding bonds may include amounts necessary to finance any premium, unpaid interest, and costs of issuance in connection with the refunding bonds. Any such refunding may be effected whether the bonds to be refunded then shall have matured or thereafter shall mature, either by sale of the refunding bonds and the application of the proceeds thereof to the payment of the obligations being refunded or the exchange of the refunding bonds for the obligations being refunded with the consent of the holders of the obligations being refunded.

2. Notes, bonds, or other indebtedness of the district shall be exclusively the responsibility of the district payable solely out of the district funds and property and shall not constitute a debt or liability of the state of Missouri or any agency or political subdivision of the state. Any notes, bonds, or other indebtedness of the district shall state on their face that they are not obligations of the state of Missouri or any agency or political subdivision thereof other than the district.

3. Any district may by resolution impose a district sales tax of up to one-half of one percent on all retail sales made in such district that are subject to taxation pursuant to the provisions of sections 144.010 to 144.525. Upon voter approval, and receiving the necessary certifications from the governing body of the municipality in which the district is located, or from the circuit court if the district was formed by the circuit court, the board of directors shall have the power to impose a sales tax at its first meeting, or any meeting thereafter. Voter approval of the question of the imposing sales tax shall be in accordance with section 67.2520*. The sales tax shall become effective in those subdistricts that approve the sales tax on the first day of the first calendar quarter immediately following the passage of a resolution by the board of directors imposing the sales tax.

4. In each district in which a sales tax has been imposed in the manner provided by this section, every retailer shall add the tax imposed by the district pursuant to this section to the retailer's sale price, and when so added, such tax shall constitute a part of the price, shall be a debt of the purchaser to the retailer until paid, and shall be recoverable at law in the same manner as the purchase price.

5. In order to permit sellers required to collect and report the sales tax authorized by this section to collect the amount required to be reported and remitted, but not to change the requirements of reporting or remitting tax or to serve as a levy of the tax, and in order to avoid fractions of pennies, the district may establish appropriate brackets which shall be used in the district imposing a tax pursuant to this section in lieu of those brackets provided in section 144.285.

6. All revenue received by a district from the sales tax authorized by this section shall be deposited in a special trust fund and shall be used solely for the purposes of the district. Any funds in such special trust fund which are not needed for the district's current expenditures may be invested by the district board of directors in accordance with applicable laws relating to the investment of other district funds.

7. The sales tax may be imposed at a rate of up to one-half of one percent on the receipts from the sale at retail of all tangible personal property or taxable services at retail within the district adopting such tax, if such property and services are subject to taxation by the state of Missouri pursuant to the provisions of sections 144.010 to 144.525. Any district sales tax imposed pursuant to this section shall be imposed at a rate that shall be uniform throughout the subdistricts approving the sales tax.

8. The resolution imposing the sales tax pursuant to this section shall impose upon all sellers a tax for the privilege of engaging in the business of selling tangible personal property or rendering taxable services at retail to the extent and in the manner provided in sections 144.010 to 144.525 and the rules and regulations of the director of revenue issued pursuant thereto; except that the rate of the tax shall be the rate imposed by the resolution as the sales tax and the tax shall be reported and returned to and collected by the district.

9. (1) On and after the effective date of any sales tax imposed pursuant to this section, the district shall perform all functions incident to the administration, collection, enforcement, and operation of the tax. The sales tax imposed pursuant to this section shall be collected and reported upon such forms and under such administrative rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the district.

(2) All such sales taxes collected by the district shall be deposited by the district in a special fund to be expended for the purposes authorized in this section. The district shall keep accurate records of the amount of money which was collected pursuant to this section, and the records shall be open to the inspection of officers of each district and the general public.

(3) The district may contract with the municipality that the district is within for the municipality to collect any revenue received by the district and, after deducting the cost of such collection, but not to exceed one percent of the total amount collected, deposit such revenue in a special trust account. Such revenue and interest may be applied by the municipality to expenses, costs, or debt service of the district at the direction of the district as set forth in a contract between the municipality and the district.

10. (1) All applicable provisions contained in sections 144.010 to 144.525 governing the state sales tax, sections 32.085 and 32.087, and section 32.057, the uniform confidentiality provision, shall apply to the collection of the tax imposed by this section, except as modified in this section.

(2) All exemptions granted to agencies of government, organizations, persons, and to the sale of certain articles and items of tangible personal property and taxable services pursuant to the provisions of sections 144.010 to 144.525 are hereby made applicable to the imposition and collection of the tax imposed by this section.

(3) The same sales tax permit, exemption certificate, and retail certificate required by sections 144.010 to 144.525 for the administration and collection of the state sales tax shall satisfy the requirements of this section, and no additional permit or exemption certificate or retail certificate shall be required; except that the district may prescribe a form of exemption certificate for an exemption from the tax imposed by this section.

(4) All discounts allowed the retailer pursuant to the provisions of the state sales tax laws for the collection of and for payment of taxes pursuant to such laws are hereby allowed and made applicable to any taxes collected pursuant to the provisions of this section.

(5) The penalties provided in section 32.057 and sections 144.010 to 144.525 for violation of those sections are hereby made applicable to violations of this section.

(6) For the purpose of a sales tax imposed by a resolution pursuant to this section, all retail sales shall be deemed to be consummated at the place of business of the retailer unless the tangible personal property sold is delivered by the retailer or the retailer's agent to an out-of-state destination or to a common carrier for delivery to an out-of-state destination. In the event a retailer has more than one place of business in this state which participates in the sale, the sale shall be deemed to be consummated at the place of business of the retailer where the initial order for the tangible personal property is taken, even though the order must be forwarded elsewhere for acceptance, approval of credit, shipment, or billing. A sale by a retailer's employee shall be deemed to be consummated at the place of business from which the employee works.

(7) Subsequent to the initial approval by the voters and implementation of a sales tax in the district, the rate of the sales tax may be increased, but not to exceed a rate of one-half of one percent on retail sales as provided in this subsection. The election shall be conducted in accordance with section 67.2520; provided, however, that the district board of directors may place the question of the increase of the sales tax before the voters of the district by resolution, and the municipal clerk of the city, town, or village which originally conducted the incorporation of the district, or the circuit clerk of the court which originally conducted the incorporation of the district, shall conduct the subsequent election. In subsequent elections, the election judges shall certify the election results to the district board of directors. The ballot of submission shall be in substantially the following form:

­­If a majority of the votes cast on the proposal by the qualified voters of the district voting thereon are in favor of the increase, the increase shall become effective December thirty-first of the calendar year in which such increase was approved.

11. (1) There shall not be any election as provided for in this section while the district has any financing or other obligations outstanding.

(2) The board, when presented with a petition signed by at least one-third of the registered voters in a district that voted in the last gubernatorial election, or signed by at least two-thirds of property owners of the district, calling for an election to dissolve and repeal the tax shall submit the question to the voters using the same procedure by which the imposing tax was voted. The ballot of submission shall be in substantially the following form:

­­Such subsequent elections for the repeal of the sales tax shall be conducted in accordance with section 67.2520; provided, however, that the district board of directors may place the question of the repeal of the sales tax before the voters of the district, and the municipal clerk of the city, town, or village which originally conducted the incorporation of the district, or the circuit clerk of the court which originally conducted the incorporation of the district, shall conduct the subsequent election. In subsequent elections the election judges shall certify the election results to the district board of directors.

(3) If a majority of the votes cast on the proposal by the qualified voters of the district voting thereon are in favor of repeal, that repeal shall become effective December thirty-first of the calendar year in which such repeal was approved or after the repayment of the district's indebtedness, whichever occurs later.

12. (1) At such time as the board of directors of the district determines that further operation of the district is not in the best interests of the inhabitants of the district, and that the district should dissolve, the board shall submit for a vote in an election held throughout the district the question of whether the district should be abolished. The question shall be submitted in substantially the following form:

(2) The district board shall not propose the question to abolish the district while there are outstanding claims or causes of action pending against the district, while the district liabilities exceed its assets, while indebtedness of the district is outstanding, or while the district is insolvent, in receivership or under the jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court. Prior to submitting the question to abolish the district to a vote of the entire district, the state auditor shall audit the district to determine the financial status of the district, and whether the district may be abolished pursuant to law. The vote on the abolition of the district shall be conducted by the municipal clerk of the city, town, or village in which the district is located. The procedure shall be the same as in section 67.2520, except that the question shall be determined by the qualified voters of the entire district. No individual subdistrict may be abolished, except at such time as the district is abolished.

(3) While the district still exists, it shall continue to accrue all revenues to which it is entitled at law.

(4) Upon receipt by the board of directors of the district of the certification by the city, town, or village in which the district is located that the majority of those voting within the entire district have voted to abolish the district, and if the state auditor has determined that the district's financial condition is such that it may be abolished pursuant to law, then the board of directors of the district shall:

(a) Sell any remaining district real or personal property it wishes, and then transfer the proceeds and any other real or personal property owned by the district to the city, town, or village in which the district is located, including revenues due and owing the district, for its further use and disposition;

(b) Terminate the employment of any remaining district employees, and otherwise conclude its affairs;

(c) At a public meeting of the district, declare by a resolution of the board of directors passed by a majority vote that the district has been abolished effective that date;

(d) Cause copies of that resolution under seal to be filed with the secretary of state and the city, town, or village in which the district is located.

­­Upon the completion of the final act specified in this subsection, the legal existence of the district shall cease.

(5) The legal existence of the district shall not cease for a period of two years after voter approval of the abolition.

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(L. 2004 H.B. 795, et al. merged with H.B. 833 merged with S.B. 732 merged with S.B. 1155)

*Words "of this section" appear here in original rolls of H.B. 795, et al., H.B. 833, and S.B. 732, 2004.