2011 Missouri Revised Statutes
TITLE X TAXATION AND REVENUE
Chapter 144 Sales and Use Tax
Section 144.605. Definitions.

144.605. The following words and phrases as used in sections 144.600 to 144.745 mean and include:

(1) "Calendar quarter", the period of three consecutive calendar months ending on March thirty-first, June thirtieth, September thirtieth or December thirty-first;

(2) "Engages in business activities within this state" includes:

(a) Purposefully or systematically exploiting the market provided by this state by any media-assisted, media-facilitated, or media-solicited means, including, but not limited to, direct mail advertising, distribution of catalogs, computer-assisted shopping, telephone, television, radio, or other electronic media, or magazine or newspaper advertisements, or other media; or

(b) Being owned or controlled by the same interests which own or control any seller engaged in the same or similar line of business in this state; or

(c) Maintaining or having a franchisee or licensee operating under the seller's trade name in this state if the franchisee or licensee is required to collect sales tax pursuant to sections 144.010 to 144.525; or

(d) Soliciting sales or taking orders by sales agents or traveling representatives;

(3) "Maintains a place of business in this state" includes maintaining, occupying, or using, permanently or temporarily, directly or indirectly, or through a subsidiary, or agent, by whatever name called, an office, place of distribution, sales or sample room or place, warehouse or storage place, or other place of business;

(4) "Person", any individual, firm, copartnership, joint venture, association, corporation, municipal or private, and whether organized for profit or not, state, county, political subdivision, state department, commission, board, bureau or agency, except the state transportation department, estate, trust, business trust, receiver or trustee appointed by the state or federal court, syndicate, or any other group or combination acting as a unit, and the plural as well as the singular number;

(5) "Purchase", the acquisition of the ownership of, or title to, tangible personal property, through a sale, as defined herein, for the purpose of storage, use or consumption in this state;

(6) "Purchaser", any person who is the recipient for a valuable consideration of any sale of tangible personal property acquired for use, storage or consumption in this state;

(7) "Sale", any transfer, barter or exchange of the title or ownership of tangible personal property, or the right to use, store or consume the same, for a consideration paid or to be paid, and any transaction whether called leases, rentals, bailments, loans, conditional sales or otherwise, and notwithstanding that the title or possession of the property or both is retained for security. For the purpose of this law the place of delivery of the property to the purchaser, user, storer or consumer is deemed to be the place of sale, whether the delivery be by the vendor or by common carriers, private contractors, mails, express, agents, salesmen, solicitors, hawkers, representatives, consignors, peddlers, canvassers or otherwise;

(8) "Sales price", the consideration including the charges for services, except charges incident to the extension of credit, paid or given, or contracted to be paid or given, by the purchaser to the vendor for the tangible personal property, including any services that are a part of the sale, valued in money, whether paid in money or otherwise, and any amount for which credit is given to the purchaser by the vendor, without any deduction therefrom on account of the cost of the property sold, the cost of materials used, labor or service cost, losses or any other expenses whatsoever, except that cash discounts allowed and taken on sales shall not be included and "sales price" shall not include the amount charged for property returned by customers upon rescission of the contract of sales when the entire amount charged therefor is refunded either in cash or credit or the amount charged for labor or services rendered in installing or applying the property sold, the use, storage or consumption of which is taxable pursuant to sections 144.600 to 144.745. In determining the amount of tax due pursuant to sections 144.600 to 144.745, any charge incident to the extension of credit shall be specifically exempted;

(9) "Selling agent", every person acting as a representative of a principal, when such principal is not registered with the director of revenue of the state of Missouri for the collection of the taxes imposed pursuant to sections 144.010 to 144.525 or sections 144.600 to 144.745 and who receives compensation by reason of the sale of tangible personal property of the principal, if such property is to be stored, used, or consumed in this state;

(10) "Storage", any keeping or retention in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a vendor, except property for sale or property that is temporarily kept or retained in this state for subsequent use outside the state;

(11) "Tangible personal property", all items subject to the Missouri sales tax as provided in subdivisions (1) and (3) of section 144.020;

(12) "Taxpayer", any person remitting the tax or who should remit the tax levied by sections 144.600 to 144.745;

(13) "Use", the exercise of any right or power over tangible personal property incident to the ownership or control of that property, except that it does not include the temporary storage of property in this state for subsequent use outside the state, or the sale of the property in the regular course of business;

(14) "Vendor", every person engaged in making sales of tangible personal property by mail order, by advertising, by agent or peddling tangible personal property, soliciting or taking orders for sales of tangible personal property, for storage, use or consumption in this state, all salesmen, solicitors, hawkers, representatives, consignees, peddlers or canvassers, as agents of the dealers, distributors, consignors, supervisors, principals or employers under whom they operate or from whom they obtain the tangible personal property sold by them, and every person who maintains a place of business in this state, maintains a stock of goods in this state, or engages in business activities within this state and every person who engages in this state in the business of acting as a selling agent for persons not otherwise vendors as defined in this subdivision. Irrespective of whether they are making sales on their own behalf or on behalf of the dealers, distributors, consignors, supervisors, principals or employers, they must be regarded as vendors and the dealers, distributors, consignors, supervisors, principals or employers must be regarded as vendors for the purposes of sections 144.600 to 144.745. A person shall not be considered a vendor for the purposes of sections 144.600 to 144.745 if all of the following apply:

(a) The person's total gross receipts did not exceed five hundred thousand dollars in this state, or twelve and one-half million dollars in the entire United States, in the immediately preceding calendar year;

(b) The person maintains no place of business in this state; and

(c) The person has no selling agents in this state.

(L. 1959 H.B. 35 3, A.L. 1961 p. 623, A.L. 1969 p. 78, A.L. 1974 H.B. 1593, A.L. 1990 H.B. 960, A.L. 1994 H.B. 1578, A.L. 1999 H.B. 139)

Annotation Copyright Missouri Joint Committee on Legislative Research