Effective 28 Aug 2017

144.605. Definitions. — The following words and phrases as used in sections 144.600 to 144.745 mean and include:

(1) "Calendar quarter", the period of three consecutive calendar months ending on March thirty-first, June thirtieth, September thirtieth or December thirty-first;

(2) "Engages in business activities within this state" includes:

(a) Maintaining or having a franchisee or licensee operating under the seller's trade name in this state if the franchisee or licensee is required to collect sales tax pursuant to sections 144.010 to 144.525;

(b) Soliciting sales or taking orders by sales agents or traveling representatives;

(c) A vendor is presumed to engage in business activities within this state if any person, other than a common carrier acting in its capacity as such, that has substantial nexus with this state:

a. Sells a similar line of products as the vendor and does so under the same or a similar business name;

b. Maintains an office, distribution facility, warehouse, or storage place, or similar place of business in the state to facilitate the delivery of property or services sold by the vendor to the vendor's customers;

c. Delivers, installs, assembles, or performs maintenance services for the vendor's customers within the state;

d. Facilitates the vendor's delivery of property to customers in the state by allowing the vendor's customers to pick up property sold by the vendor at an office, distribution facility, warehouse, storage place, or similar place of business maintained by the person in the state; or

e. Conducts any other activities in the state that are significantly associated with the vendor's ability to establish and maintain a market in the state for the sales;

(d) The presumption in paragraph (c) may be rebutted by demonstrating that the person's activities in the state are not significantly associated with the vendor's ability to establish or maintain a market in this state for the vendor's sales;

(e) Notwithstanding paragraph (c), a vendor shall be presumed to engage in business activities within this state if the vendor enters into an agreement with one or more residents of this state under which the resident, for a commission or other consideration, directly or indirectly refers potential customers, whether by a link on an internet website, an in-person oral presentation, telemarketing, or otherwise, to the vendor, if the cumulative gross receipts from sales by the vendor to customers in the state who are referred to the vendor by all residents with this type of an agreement with the vendor is in excess of ten thousand dollars during the preceding twelve months;

(f) The presumption in paragraph (e) may be rebutted by submitting proof that the residents with whom the vendor has an agreement did not engage in any activity within the state that was significantly associated with the vendor's ability to establish or maintain the vendor's market in the state during the preceding twelve months. Such proof may consist of sworn written statements from all of the residents with whom the vendor has an agreement stating that they did not engage in any solicitation in the state on behalf of the vendor during the preceding year provided that such statements were provided and obtained in good faith;

(3) "Maintains a place of business in this state" includes maintaining, occupying, or using, permanently or temporarily, directly or indirectly, by whatever name called, an office, place of distribution, sales or sample room or place, warehouse or storage place, or other place of business in this state, whether owned or operated by the vendor or by any other person other than a common carrier acting in its capacity as such;

(4) "Person", any individual, firm, copartnership, joint venture, association, corporation, municipal or private, and whether organized for profit or not, state, county, political subdivision, state department, commission, board, bureau or agency, except the state transportation department, estate, trust, business trust, receiver or trustee appointed by the state or federal court, syndicate, or any other group or combination acting as a unit, and the plural as well as the singular number;

(5) "Purchase", the acquisition of the ownership of, or title to, tangible personal property, through a sale, as defined herein, for the purpose of storage, use or consumption in this state;

(6) "Purchaser", any person who is the recipient for a valuable consideration of any sale of tangible personal property acquired for use, storage or consumption in this state;

(7) "Sale", any transfer, barter or exchange of the title or ownership of tangible personal property, or the right to use, store or consume the same, for a consideration paid or to be paid, and any transaction whether called leases, rentals, bailments, loans, conditional sales or otherwise, and notwithstanding that the title or possession of the property or both is retained for security. For the purpose of this law the place of delivery of the property to the purchaser, user, storer or consumer is deemed to be the place of sale, whether the delivery be by the vendor or by common carriers, private contractors, mails, express, agents, salesmen, solicitors, hawkers, representatives, consignors, peddlers, canvassers or otherwise;

(8) "Sales price", the consideration including the charges for services, except charges incident to the extension of credit, paid or given, or contracted to be paid or given, by the purchaser to the vendor for the tangible personal property, including any services that are a part of the sale, valued in money, whether paid in money or otherwise, and any amount for which credit is given to the purchaser by the vendor, without any deduction therefrom on account of the cost of the property sold, the cost of materials used, labor or service cost, losses or any other expenses whatsoever, except that cash discounts allowed and taken on sales shall not be included and "sales price" shall not include the amount charged for property returned by customers upon rescission of the contract of sales when the entire amount charged therefor is refunded either in cash or credit or the amount charged for labor or services rendered in installing or applying the property sold, the use, storage or consumption of which is taxable pursuant to sections 144.600 to 144.745. The sales price shall not include usual and customary delivery charges that are separately stated. In determining the amount of tax due pursuant to sections 144.600 to 144.745, any charge incident to the extension of credit shall be specifically exempted;

(9) "Selling agent", every person acting as a representative of a principal, when such principal is not registered with the director of revenue of the state of Missouri for the collection of the taxes imposed pursuant to sections 144.010 to 144.525 or sections 144.600 to 144.745 and who receives compensation by reason of the sale of tangible personal property of the principal, if such property is to be stored, used, or consumed in this state;

(10) "Storage", any keeping or retention in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a vendor, except property for sale or property that is temporarily kept or retained in this state for subsequent use outside the state;

(11) "Tangible personal property", all items subject to the Missouri sales tax as provided in subdivisions (1) and (3) of section 144.020;

(12) "Taxpayer", any person remitting the tax or who should remit the tax levied by sections 144.600 to 144.745;

(13) "Use", the exercise of any right or power over tangible personal property incident to the ownership or control of that property, except that it does not include the temporary storage of property in this state for subsequent use outside the state, or the sale of the property in the regular course of business;

(14) "Vendor", every person engaged in making sales of tangible personal property by mail order, by advertising, by agent or peddling tangible personal property, soliciting or taking orders for sales of tangible personal property, for storage, use or consumption in this state, all salesmen, solicitors, hawkers, representatives, consignees, peddlers or canvassers, as agents of the dealers, distributors, consignors, supervisors, principals or employers under whom they operate or from whom they obtain the tangible personal property sold by them, and every person who maintains a place of business in this state, maintains a stock of goods in this state, or engages in business activities within this state and every person who engages in this state in the business of acting as a selling agent for persons not otherwise vendors as defined in this subdivision. Irrespective of whether they are making sales on their own behalf or on behalf of the dealers, distributors, consignors, supervisors, principals or employers, they must be regarded as vendors and the dealers, distributors, consignors, supervisors, principals or employers must be regarded as vendors for the purposes of sections 144.600 to 144.745.

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(L. 1959 H.B. 35 § 3, A.L. 1961 p. 623, A.L. 1969 p. 78, A.L. 1974 H.B. 1593, A.L. 1990 H.B. 960, A.L. 1994 H.B. 1578, A.L. 1999 H.B. 139, A.L. 2013 S.B. 23, A.L. 2017 S.B. 16)