This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Sept. 16, 2011 - Buy a $299 dishwasher at the Home Depot on 1603 S. Hanley Road, and you will pay $327.18, including $28.18 in sales tax. The same model at the Home Depot at 7481 South Lindbergh costs $319.71, including $20.71 in sales tax.
An asiago roast beef sandwich and a regular iced tea at St. Louis Bread Co. "for here," in the Fenton Gravois Bluffs costs $9.63, or $8.88 plus 75 cents in sales tax (8.425 percent). Order it "to go," and you'll pay $9.34, with only 46 cents in sales tax (5.225 percent). In Brentwood Square, the same meal will cost you $9.70 "for here" (9.425 percent rate) and $9.43 "to go" (6.225 percent rate).
But order a hot soup for $4.59, and a small coffee, at $1.79, and you'll pay the higher price, $6.91 (53 cents in sales tax, or 8.425 percent) in Fenton regardless of whether you order it "for here" or "to go."
What gives? What accounts for the variation?
"It is complicated because we have a complex taxing system in St. Louis County. We have 91 cities, and we have 350 taxing districts in St. Louis County," says Lori Fiegel, manager of comprehensive planning for St. Louis County.
In addition, Missouri's special rules on sales taxes on food make the picture fuzzier, albeit less expensive.
Sales Tax: High and Low of It
Drop $100 for clothes at South County Center, and you'll pay $6.93 in sales tax, or 6.925 percent. Spend the same $100 at Plaza Frontenac, the Galleria or Gravois Bluffs and the tax will be $8.43, or 8.425 percent. Go to Wal-Mart on Hanley Road, the Target in Brentwood Promenade or St. Louis Mills, and you'll pay $9.43, or 9.425 percent.
Sales tax rates in local popular shopping districts
1. South County Mall: 6.925 percent
2. Chesterfield Mall: 7.925 percent
3. Chesterfield Valley: 8.3 percent
4. Galleria Mall: 8.425 percent
5. Gravois Bluffs Shopping District: 8.425 percent
6. West County Mall (Des Peres): 9.425 percent
7. Plaza Frontenac: 8.425 percent
8. Brentwood Promenade, Brentwood Square: 9.425 percent
9. St. Louis Mills Mall 9.425 percent
10. Hanley Road Wal-Mart/Sam's Club (Maplewood) 9.425 percent
Sales tax rates in St. Louis and St. Louis County are a patchwork quilt -- thanks to optional local sales taxes and special taxing districts. People often don't notice that they may be paying more or less in one area or another, often considering the differences minor.
"You assume sales taxes across the board are the same when you go shopping," said Reese Barnett, 34, of St. Louis, while eating at a St. Louis Bread Co. one Sunday afternoon.
"There's nothing you can do about it. You don't notice the insignificant increase from area to area," he said.
His friend, Jay Harris, 34, of St. Louis, is warier when he shops in the city.
"If I'm in the city, I do think about (sales tax) because it's higher," he said. "In the county, I don't think about it as much."
Like many people, Harris uses the internet for big purchases. "Usually when I buy a computer, I try to buy it on the internet," he said.
It's this incremental, seemingly insignificant quality, says Robert Cropf, professor of public policy studies at Saint Louis University, which makes sales taxes the choice of local governments and developers to raise money.
Taxpayers "tend to ignore the sales tax because, on most items, it adds a negligible cost to an item," he said. "Most people ignore it. Most people can't be bothered with it."
Still, added Cropf, "If you were to collect all your sales tax receipts at the end of the year, it would surprise you."
Sales taxes make up a big chunk of municipal budgets. "It's their largest revenue source," said Steve Ables, assistant director of the Missouri Municipal League.
"It's safe to say it's the largest revenue source in St. Louis County, except for Maryland Heights," Ables said. Maryland Heights has a casino.
Doug Harms, Des Peres' city administrator, agrees. Sales tax comprises 54 percent of the city's budget, he said. (West County shopping center is in Des Peres.)
In general, the lowest sales taxes in St. Louis County are in unincorporated areas. South County mall, with a tax rate of 6.925 percent, is the best sales tax bargain in town. Conversely, relatively new or redeveloped shopping areas, such as West County Mall, Brentwood Square, Brentwood Promenade and St. Louis Mills, have some of the highest sales tax rates in the county, 9.425 percent respectively. Click here to figure out the sales tax rate at a given address in Missouri.
Here are some of the local vagaries in sales tax rates.
Food
In 1997, the Missouri legislature cut state taxes on grocery items by 3 percent, which is why you get a break on room temperature and cold "to go" items at St. Louis Bread Company (and other "for here" and "to go" establishments serving food), and on your grocery bill. According to the Missouri Department of Revenue website, grocery items include room temperature and cold food and drinks intended for home consumption; hot items are always charged at the higher rate. (Click here for a complete description of food taxation in Missouri.)
Variations in Sales Taxes
You just bought an iPad 2 with 64 GB, WiFi and 3G capability at a price of $829. You'll pay:
$886.41 at Best Buy, 73 South County Center Way (6.925 percent sales tax, or $57.40)
$898.84 at the Galleria Apple Store (8.425 percent sales tax, or $69.84)
$899.39 at Mac Headquarters in St. Louis (8.491 percent, or $70.39)
$907.13 at West County Center Apple Store (9.425 percent, or $78.13)
$893.87 for an internet sale from 63130, or University City, zip code (7.8 percent, or $64.87)
$902.12 for an internet sale from St. Louis 63110 zip code (8.82 percent, or $73.12)
$872.32 for an internet sale from Wildwood 63040 zip code (5.225 percent, or $43.32)
While the rule applies to cold drinks such as iced tea and Coke, it doesn't apply to soups and coffee, which are always charged at the higher rate because they are hot. This explains why, at restaurants with a "for here" and "to go" option, "to go" is several cents cheaper than "for here" on cold and room temperature items.
Dine-in Restaurants
While dining in is generally more expensive than "to go," St. Louis goes a step further. St. Louis charges a dine-in restaurant tax of 1.5 percent, said chief deputy license collector Aaron Phillips. It's not collected by the St. Louis Department of Revenue, but by the license collector's office, Philips said.
This explains why, even though the lowest sales tax rate in St. Louis, is 8.491 percent, diners will notice they are paying about 10 percent in sales tax for food. So, the asiago roast beef sandwich and regular iced tea meal at the St. Louis Bread Co. with a base price of $8.88, costs $9.76 at the St. Louis Bread Co. at 4921 Forest Park Ave., in the Central West End, with 88 cents in sales tax, when eaten, "for here," or 9.991 percent. The "dine in" sales tax does not apply to items purchased "to go."
Automobiles
Since unincorporated St. Louis County has the lowest sales tax in St. Louis County, that's the best place to buy automobiles, right?
Wrong, says Ted Farnen, communications director for the Missouri Department of Revenue. "When you purchase a car, you pay that motor vehicle sales tax at the license office," he said. "For vehicles, it's based on where the person who purchased it lives, not on where the car was bought."
Internet Sales
One way to avoid sales tax completely is to order items from the internet, right? The answer is, it depends.
Currently, businesses with a location in or a business connection to Missouri are obliged to charge a "use tax," which varies depending on where the item is shipped. Often, but not always, these "use taxes" are lower than the sales taxes you would pay for the same item at a mall.
State law requires residents to pay a "use tax" on items purchased from out-of-state in excess of $2,000, even if the business you are buying from does not have a location in Missouri. In this case, the burden of reporting is on the buyer.
Special Taxing Districts: CIDs and TDDs
What can add 1-2 percent to your sales tax bill, is not usually levied by a public vote (although it can be) and may cover only a few buildings or a transportation project?
Answer: Special sales taxing districts called Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) and Transportation Development Districts (TDDs.)
"In many cases it's driven by developers who are looking for ways to close a financing gap by using public funds," said Olivette city administrator T. Michael McDowell.
According to Des Peres' city administrator Harms, as tax increment financing (TIF) has gone out of fashion, TDDs and CIDs have become the method du jour for developers and communities seeking public financing for a development or transportation project.
"The process of doing a TIF is much more difficult to do in St. Louis County now. It's become more difficult legally. The public's acceptance of TIFs has been stretched to the limits," Harms said.
TDDs are created by property owners and used to fund transportation projects, such as widening roads, building parking lots or even a trolley, as in the University City Loop Trolley TDD.
CIDs, on the other hand, must be approved by cities.
These districts, which are sprinkled all over St. Louis and St. Louis County, include St. Louis Mills, West County Mall, Ballpark Village, and Wal-Mart and Sam's Club on Hanley Road in Maplewood.
Generally, these districts are put in place by a vote by the property owner or owners, which in most cases is the developer. The TDD or CID board then has the authority to levy bonds to pay for a transportation project, such as the Delmar Loop trolley, or redevelopment, such as tearing down the old Lord and Taylor at West County Mall.
The additional tax is in effect until the costs of the project are paid off.
The highest sales tax rate in the area is in the city -- 10.491 percent -- in areas such as the Residence Inn Downtown, the Crowne Plaza Downtown, and the Broadway Hotel, all of which have a TDD and a CID. Dine out in one of these districts, and you'll pay 11.991 percent sales tax.
Hilary Davidson is a freelance writer in St. Louis.