Missouri Sales Tax Membership Dues
Missouri Department of Revenue: decision that a club that owns and maintains, among other things, riding and shooting facilities, owed sales tax on monthly membership dues paid by its members because the dues are fees paid to a place of amusement, entertainment, or recreation pursuant to state law. The club argued that the monthly membership dues were not subject to sales tax because club members received, in addition to recreation services, the right to participate in the operation and control of the club and an increase in the value of their equitable interests in the club. However, the Commission found that the club’s monthly membership dues did not convey benefits other than access to recreational activities. While club members had certain voting rights, they were tied to the initiation fees rather than monthly membership dues. The club also failed to demonstrate that monthly membership dues secured any equitable ownership interest in the club. Furthermore, upon the club’s dissolution, members do not have a guaranteed right to share in the proceeds of the club’s sale. While club members could vote to determined what happens to the club’s assets, this was not an equitable ownership interest in the club. Because the club failed to meet its burden of proving members received more than recreational services in exchange for monthly membership due, the dues were subject to sales tax, and the club was not owed a refund for tax paid on club members’ monthly membership paid dues.
Missouri Sales Tax Membership Dues
