Safety Glasses and First-Aid Items
November 19, 2007
Dear Applicant:
This is a letter ruling issued by the Director of Revenue pursuant to Section 536.021.10, RSMo, and Missouri Code of State Regulations 12 CSR 10-1.020 in response to your correspondence dated September 17, 2007.
The facts as presented in your letter and telephone conference with Associate Counsel Dori Drummond are summarized as follows:
Applicant is a Missouri retailer that sells safety glasses, first aid items, safety supplies, and non-prescription drugs such as ibuprofen, aspirin, alcohol swabs, gauze, bandages, and eyewash. Applicant does not manufacture any of these products, but merely packages them for sale. Most of the products are kept in a first aid kit and are for the welfare and benefit of the customer’s employees. Many of Applicant’s customers are Missouri manufacturers.
Are Applicant’s sales of safety glasses exempt from state tax and local use tax under Section 144.054, RSMo?
Applicant’s sales of safety glasses may be exempt from state tax and local use tax, but not local sales tax, under Section 144.054, RSMo.
Enacted by Senate Bill 30, Section 144.054.2, RSMo, exempts from state tax and local use tax equipment and materials “used or consumed in the manufacturing, processing, compounding, mining, or producing of any product.” To the extent that the safety glasses are worn during the manufacturing, processing, compounding, mining, or producing of a product, then the sale of those glasses to a manufacturer is exempt from state tax and local use tax. The sale remains subject to local sales tax. However, if safety glasses are sold for any purpose other than those set forth in Section 144.054.2, RSMo, the sale is not exempt from state or local tax.
Are Applicant’s sales of first aid items, safety supplies, non-prescription drugs, and eyewash exempt from state tax and local use tax under Section 144.054, RSMo?
No, Applicant’s sales of first aid items, safety supplies, non-prescription drugs, and eyewash are not exempt from state tax or local use tax under Section 144.054, RSMo. See Response 1.
This letter ruling is binding upon the Department of Revenue with respect to Applicant for three (3) years from the date of this letter and is subject only to statutory changes by the General Assembly and to changes in the interpretation of law by the courts or administrative tribunals. If a change occurs, the taxpayer who relies upon an outdated interpretation may be subject to additional taxes, interest, and penalties, which may be imposed prospectively from the date of the change. For this reason, the interpretation set forth above should be reviewed on a regular basis. Please note that any change in or deviation from the facts as presented will render this ruling inapplicable.
Should additional information be needed, please contact Dori Drummond, Associate Counsel, General Counsel’s Office, Post Office Box 475, Jefferson City, Missouri 65105 (phone 573-751-0961), or me.
Sincerely,
Trish Vincent