Jefferson City loses appeal in phone tax lawsuit
Matthew Sanders
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Jefferson City government lost its appeal Tuesday in a lawsuit that sought taxes the city says telecommunications companies failed to pay.
The city brought the lawsuit in St. Louis County in 2022 against several companies, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and U.S. Cellular, alleging that they failed to pay all of the city’s 7% tax on gross receipts. The lawsuit sought delinquent taxes plus interest and penalties.
The Missouri Eastern District Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a lower court’s ruling, with Judge Virginia Lay writing in part that the city did not take the proper steps to notify the telecommunications companies about tax underpayments before taking the matter to court.
State law, the court ruled, requires assessment of the back tax due and that a notification be sent to the delinquent taxpayer.
The appeals court also found the city lacked standing to bring the lawsuit.