The Missouri Supreme Court is considering whether cities and counties can both impose a 3% sales tax on recreational marijuana, a decision that could affect more than 70 jurisdictions statewide.
The case centers on Robust Missouri 3 LLC, a dispensary in Florissant that says customers are currently paying a combined marijuana sales tax of 6%—3% from the city and 3% from St. Louis County—on top of the state’s 6% marijuana tax, bringing the total to nearly 21%.
The company argues that the Missouri Constitution only allows one local government to impose the additional 3% tax. “There’s only supposed to be one local government, one boss, one master dictating outcomes,” said attorney Eric Walter, representing Robust, during Tuesday’s hearing.
A Missouri appeals court sided with the dispensary last year, ruling that the constitution’s language is clear in allowing just one local tax. That decision overturned an earlier ruling by a lower court that had allowed both the city and county taxes to be collected.
St. Louis County officials maintain that allowing only cities or counties to impose taxes would create confusion and undermine other local authority, such as public health regulations. “It would have an absurd result,” argued the county’s attorney, Laura Robb, citing that Florissant depends on the county for public health oversight.
Walter countered that the case is about taxation, not health codes, and that allowing both governments to tax dispensaries would conflict with other constitutional provisions, including one that mandates a minimum number of dispensaries per congressional district.
The justices pressed both sides on how the amendment’s definition of “local government” should be interpreted. One section reads that in incorporated areas it refers to cities, and in unincorporated areas, counties. But other language around voter referendums and bans was less definitive.
A ruling from the Supreme Court could clarify how the marijuana tax provision should be enforced across Missouri, potentially requiring changes in dozens of jurisdictions currently stacking the local sales tax.
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