Marijuana sales-tax challenge heads to Missouri Supreme Court

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A Missouri lawsuit challenging double taxation by local and county municipalities on marijuana sales will be heard by the state Supreme Court.

Robust Missouri Dispensary 3 is asking the high court to uphold a lower court ruling that St. Louis and St. Charles counties overstepped their authority by collecting an additional 3% marijuana sales tax in cities that had already enacted that same levy, according to Law360.

A parallel lawsuit filed in November 2023 by Vertical Enterprise, headquartered in Buchanan County, argued the 3% county tax can be applied only in unincorporated areas where a 3% municipal tax doesn’t apply and marijuana buyers can’t be charged for both.

Both lawsuits contend the added 3% tax is prohibited under the adult-use marijuana legalization measure approved by voters in November 2022.

Adult-use sales launched in February 2023 in Missouri, where cannabis buyers pay a 6% state tax – one of the lowest rates in the United States.