Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Covering state lawmakers, bills, and policy emerging from Jefferson City.

Parson Calls Special Legislative Session For Car Sales Tax

Gov. Mike Parson, seen here giving his first State of the State address, announced on Wednesday a special legislative session on Sept. 9, coinciding with the state's annual veto session.
File photo | Carolina Hidalgo | St. Louis Public Radio
Gov. Mike Parson, seen here giving his first State of the State address, announced on Wednesday a special legislative session on Sept. 9, coinciding with the state's annual veto session.

Gov. Mike Parson is calling a special session next month to clear up an issue regarding sales tax bills on new cars. 

In June, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled in Kehlenbrink v. Director of Revenue that the sale proceeds of only one used vehicle can be applied as a credit on a new car. The Department of Revenue was allowing couples to turn in more than one used vehicle to bring down the sales tax on a new model. 

“After reviewing the court’s decision, we’ve decided to call a special session because it’s simply the right thing to do for the people of our state,” Parson said in a statement Wednesday. “The enforcement of this decision would create a financial burden on Missouri taxpayers and unnecessary government red tape that we can proactively prevent.”

According to estimates from the governor, this affects roughly 3,000 Missourians.

Lawmakers will be returning to the Capitol on Sept. 9 to address this sole issue, which coincides with the state’s annual veto session that is scheduled for Sept. 11. 

Auditor Nicole Galloway, who announced she was running for governor last week, has encouraged Parson to call a special session to take up school safety instead. Galloway wants the state to fund armed and trained school resource officers for all schools in Missouri. 

"There is no greater priority than the safety of our kids,” Galloway said in a statement. “The b­ipartisan School Safety Task Force provided concrete recommendations in July on ways to protect Missouri schools. As parents bring their children back to school, this issue demands urgent action."

The total cost for summoning lawmakers early wasn’t immediately available. However, since they will be in Jefferson City for the veto session, the cost for taxpayers is expected to be minimal.Follow Jaclyn on Twitter: @DriscollNPR

Send questions and comments about this story to feedback@stlpublicradio.org

Copyright 2019 St. Louis Public Radio

Jaclyn Driscoll is the Jefferson City statehouse reporter for St. Louis Public Radio. She joined the politics team in 2019 after spending two years at the Springfield, Illinois NPR affiliate. Jaclyn covered a variety of issues at the statehouse for all of Illinois' public radio stations, but focused primarily on public health and agriculture related policy. Before joining public radio, Jaclyn reported for a couple television stations in Illinois and Iowa as a general assignment reporter.