JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The special session bill clarifying a vehicle sales tax issue unanimously passed out of a Senate committee Thursday afternoon.
HB 1 will be heard in Fiscal Oversight Friday morning before going before the full body.
“It is imperative that we, as a legislative body, have a clear and concise language which clears up any misunderstandings about the intent of the legislation,” Republican Rep. Becky Ruth, the House bill handler, told the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.
Gov. Mike Parson called lawmakers back to Jefferson City this week to take up an issue stemming from a June Missouri Supreme Court decision.
At issue is the ability for individuals to trade in a vehicle — which includes cars, boats, motors, and more — and credit the proceeds of multiple vehicles sold against the purchase of a new one. Additionally, lawmakers have questioned whether that trade in credit should apply prior to the titling of a new vehicle or within a 180 day window after.
The Supreme Court interpreted the statute to be a “one-for-one” sort of deal when trading in a vehicle for another and using that credit to offset some of the cost.
As the bill stands now, individuals would be able to take advantage of the 180 day window, including after the purchase of a new vehicle.
If passed, it will take 90 days for the legislation to go into effect. An emergency clause to implement it immediately is not needed, Ruth said, because individuals impacted by the Supreme Court decision will still have enough time within the 180 day window to take advantage of the trade in rebate.
The Senate Committee on Ways and Means is comprised of Sens. Andrew Koenig, Mike Bernskoetter, Eric Burlison, Mike Cierpiot, Bob Onder, Wayne Wallingford, Lauren Arthur, and Jamilah Nasheed; the former two are the lone Democrats on the committee.
All senators were present at the hearing and voted to advance the bill. Wallingford is the handler of a similar bill in the Senate.
The House has already third read and passed the legislation.
Kaitlyn Schallhorn was the editor in chief of The Missouri Times from 2020-2022. She joined the newspaper in early 2019 after working as a reporter for Fox News in New York City.
Throughout her career, Kaitlyn has covered political campaigns across the U.S., including the 2016 presidential election, and humanitarian aid efforts in Africa and the Middle East.
She is a native of Missouri who studied journalism at Winthrop University in South Carolina. She is also an alumna of the National Journalism Center in Washington, D.C.
Contact Kaitlyn at kaitlyn@themissouritimes.com.