St. Charles County Defends 3% Marijuana Tax in Missouri Supreme Court Amid Dispensary Lawsuit

The contentious debate over St. Charles County's marijuana tax found its latest battleground in the hallowed halls of the Missouri Supreme Court last month. The tax, set at 3%, was argued by county lawyers to be within voter expectations and legally sound, as per the mandate from a 2023 ballot. The county, which encompasses a mix of incorporated and unincorporated areas, has held firm on its right to collect tax from all 14 of its dispensaries, despite objections that this might amount to double-dipping in spots where city taxes already apply, according to St. Charles County officials.

County Executive Steve Ehlmann, a visible presence both in the courtroom and the ongoing public conversation, said, “In the court of public opinion, I think people understand, that when this whole idea of marijuana was sold, it wasn’t sold on the idea that we’d have a better society if people could buy marijuana legally. Their main selling point was this will create some tax revenue.” This assertion casts the tax as a financial remedy rather than a societal enabler. Ehlmann's pushback on the lawsuit, which was filed by a marijuana dispensary, is rooted in the belief that tax collection should be uniform and exempt from the city-versus-county segmentation, as per the St. Charles County's news release.

St. Charles County's stand hinges on precedent, claiming that the variety of taxes collected are typically immune to the petitioner's argument of geographical tax boundaries. “Every other tax we have is paid whether you live in the city or the unincorporated area,” Ehlmann points out. Adding weight to the county's argument is the $2.4 million in limbo, a sizeable sum accrued since dispensaries fired up their operations, with an aim to offer property tax relief.

Ehlmann’s decision to direct this tax revenue toward providing relief for homeowners, rather than offering discounts to marijuana consumers, reflects his economic strategy for the region. As he stated in a news release from St. Charles County, “Marijuana users don’t need a tax cut. Property tax payers do. The potential revenue from our marijuana sales could be used to reduce the property tax bills of county taxpayers.”