Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Sales Tax Consignment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee considers bills to clarify sales-tax treatment of consignment and auction sales
Summary
Representatives presented House Bills 493 and 635, which aim to clarify when used-goods sales through consignment, auctioneers or resale shops are subject to sales tax. Auctioneers and consignment operators sought a statutory fix to long-standing confusion; some lawmakers said sales at business premises should be taxed.
The Ways and Means Committee heard two near-identical measures — House Bill 493 and House Bill 635 — intended to resolve ambiguity in how Missouri sales tax applies to used goods sold by auctioneers, consignment dealers and resale shops.
Representatives Jeff Knight and Dean Manscope described the bills as clarifying existing statute so that property sold at an individual’s residence during a private sale would remain exempt but items taken to an established business location for consignment or sale would be subject to sales tax. They said the existing statute had not been enforced consistently and that the fiscal impact was difficult to quantify because many consignment transactions are informal.
Auctioneers and industry witnesses argued that consignment sales are often misunderstood: they said consignors retain title and the auction house acts as a broker that typically takes a percentage or fee. Auctioneers asked that the law recognize that many secondhand goods have been taxed at the time of initial purchase and that taxing them again at resale creates unfair double taxation. Witnesses suggested exempting used goods when tax was paid previously; multiple industry representatives asked that titles (vehicles, trailers, boats) remain outside the change because those already require separate titling and tax procedures.
Lawmakers differed. Representative Taylor and others said that sales in a business setting — an established consignment shop or auction house that advertises and provides parking — amount to a commercial retail transaction and therefore should be taxed. Committee members flagged enforcement and administration questions: if multiple sellers bring goods to a single auction event, should that be classified as a consignment business? Witnesses acknowledged such transactions create ambiguity under current practice.
No formal committee vote was recorded during the hearing; sponsors and industry representatives said they would work with assessors and the fiscal office to clarify definitions and fiscal implications.
