ST. LOUIS 鈥 City officials said Wednesday they will not seek Missouri Supreme Court review of a recent court ruling against the city鈥檚 earnings tax, likely cementing a decision that could ultimately cost 最新杏吧原创 millions of dollars in refunds per year.
The May 28 ruling from the Missouri Court of Appeals said the city erred in refusing tax refunds to six employees of 最新杏吧原创-based companies who worked from their homes outside the city during the pandemic. It said the city鈥檚 arguments to the contrary misinterpreted the plain language of the law authorizing the city鈥檚 1% income tax. And officials have already braced for the ripple effect, assuming a $26 million hit to earnings and payroll tax revenue in the budget for the upcoming year.
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Bevis Schock, an attorney for the six plaintiffs in the case, would not say Wednesday whether he would appeal to the high court. The appellate court denied his clients鈥 request for class-action status to go after all earnings taxes paid by remote workers during the pandemic years, a toll once estimated to total between $75 million and $150 million.
But there was no indication of any activity in the online case file by the end of the workday Wednesday, the deadline for both sides to request rehearing or transfer to the state Supreme Court.
Schock did say, however, that 鈥渟erious discussions鈥 were underway Wednesday. And later, Susan Ryan, a spokesperson for the city tax collector, said something similar.聽鈥淎 resolution of the issues in the case are under discussion and further information will be available Friday.鈥
A prospective settlement between the parties could address a number of issues. The appeals court ruling did not say exactly how Collector of Revenue Gregory F.X. Daly has to proceed with refunds of earnings taxes for remote workers moving forward. The city鈥檚 website and paperwork still says remote work is not exempt from the 1% earnings tax.
Schock and Mark Milton, another attorney for the plaintiffs, have also called on Daly to proactively refund taxes to everyone who worked from homes outside the city during the pandemic, even if there won鈥檛 be a class-action suit.
鈥淥ur hope is that the city does the right thing,鈥 Milton said in a press conference May 28.
View life in 最新杏吧原创 through the Post-Dispatch photographers' lenses. Edited by Jenna Jones.
