Erb Industrial Equipment Co. v. City of Cape Girardeau

PAUL M. SPINDEN, Special Judge.

Erb Industrial Equipment Company, Inc., challenges Cape Girardeau’s assessment of a gross sales merchants license tax against it for the tax year ending July 31, 1986.1 Erb paid the tax for 1986 under protest. It asserted that the city did not have authority under either the city’s charter or state statutes to impose the tax on its sales and service of farm, construction and forestry equipment. The trial court concluded that the city lacked authority to levy the tax because neither its charter nor any state statute specially named Erb’s business as subject to…