Section 10 Regulation or Revenue

• Library: Tax Law 2009

The taxing authority often faces the question of whether the revenue-generating device is regulatory or designed solely for the generation of the revenue. If the device is found to be primarily revenue-generating and not regulatory, the municipal authority will be obliged to defend the device by a showing of express delegation, reasonable implication, or indispensability. If, on the other hand, the device is essentially regulatory, its authority is found under the general police powers of the municipality, and no specific provision for gathering the revenue will have to be shown. Wilhoit v. City of Springfield, 171 S.W.2d 95 (Mo. App. S.D. 1943).

In City of Florissant v. Eller Outdoor Advertising Co. of St. Louis, 522 S.W.2d 330 (Mo. App. E.D. 1975), the court reaffirmed the long-standing distinction between taxing powers and regulatory measures. In...