COMMERCIAL SURTAX
At the election held on August 3, 1982, the voters of Missouri approved the amended provisions of section 6 of article X of the Missouri Constitution. The effective date for the amended provisions of section 6 of article X was January 1, 1985.
The amended provisions of section 6 of article X of the Missouri Constitution established an exemption of merchants’ and manufacturers’ tangible personal property for tax purposes, thus eliminating the tax commonly referred to as the “Merchants’ and Manufacturers’ Tax.”
Missouri Revised Statutes Chapter 139, Section 139.600 implemented the amended changes to the Constitution. To replace the lost revenues resultant from the elimination of the “Merchants’ and Manufacturers’ Tax, the Statute imposed a replacement tax, commonly referred to as the “Commercial Surcharge” on real property in subclass (3) of class one property (real property).
The Statute established the formula to determine the tax rate of the “Commercial Surcharge” for each County. The tax rate may not be increased and may only be decreased if approved by a majority of the voters of that County.
The revenue collected from the “Commercial Surcharge” is distributed to the taxing authorities in the same manner that the real estate tax is distributed to the taxing authorities.
The tax rate for the “Commercial Surcharge” in Washington County is 0.34 per $100. of assessed valuation.