Exempts the retail sale of food from state sales and use tax, subject to a three-year sunset provision

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 2568
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE SMITH (46).
5727H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o repeal section 144.014, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to food
sales and use tax.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 144.014, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu
2 thereof, to be known as section 144.014, to read as follows:
144.014. 1. Notwithstanding other provisions of law to the contrary , beginning
2 October 1, 1997, except as pr ovided under subsection 2 of this section, the tax levied and
3 imposed under this chapter on all retail sales of food shall be at the rate of one percent. The
4 revenue derived from the one percent rate pursuant to this section shall be deposited by the
5 state treasurer in the school district trust fund and shall be distributed as provided in section
6 144.701.
7 2. (1) Notwithstanding any pro vision of law to the contrary , beginning January
8 1, 2027, no state sales or use tax shall be levied or imposed on any ret ail sale of food in
9 this state. The exemption granted under this subsection shall not apply to local sales tax
10 as defined under section 32.085, or local use tax levied or imposed as authorized by law .
11 If the exemption provi ded under this subdivision is sunset as pr ovided under
12 subdivision (2) of this subsection, the prov isions of the one per cent tax imposed on all
13 r etail sales of food under subsection 1 of this section shall apply beginning on and after
14 the date of the expiration of the exemption.
15 (2) Under section 23.253 of the Missouri sunset act:
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
16 (a) The provi sions of the exemption authorized under this subsection shall sunset
17 thr ee years after the effective date of this section unless rea uthorized by an act of the
18 general assembly; and
19 (b) If such exemption is reau thorized, the exemption authorized under this
20 subsection shall sunset twelve years after the effective date of the r eauthorization of this
21 section.
22 3. For the purposes of this section, the term "food" shall include only those products
23 and types of food for which [ food stamps ] benefits may be redeemed pursuant to the
24 provisions of the [ Federal Food Stamp Program ] Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
25 Pr ogram as [ contained ] described in 7 U.S.C. Section 2012, as that section now reads or as it
26 may be amended hereafter , and shall include food dispensed by or through vending machines.
27 For the purpose of this section, except for vending machine sales, the term "food" shall not
28 include food or drink sold by any establishment where the gross receipts derived from the sale
29 of food prepared by such establishment for immediate consumption on or of f the premises of
30 the establishment constitutes more than eighty percent of the total gross receipts of that
31 establishment, regardless of whether such prepared food is consumed on the premises of that
32 establishment, including, but not limited to, sales of food by any restaurant, fast food
33 restaurant, delicatessen, eating house, or café.
✔
HB 2568 2