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Missouri Supreme Court may force LA Rams to shell out a little more money

The future of the Edward Jones Dome is a big topic of discussion now that the St. Louis Rams are gone -- especially since there's outstanding debt on the facility.
Carolina Hidalgo
/
St. Louis Public Radio

Updated at 5:10 p.m. with attorney general office's having no comment — The NFL’s Rams left St. Louis, but some unsettled business — back taxes — apparently remains.

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the Los Angeles Rams may owe the state $352,000 dollars in unpaid state sales taxes for three of the years the team played in St. Louis.

The court’s decision said the Rams must pay sales tax on the face value of all tickets sold. The team, which moved west last year, excluded the 5 percent that would have been taken for St. Louis’ entertainment tax for three years.

A state commission sided in 2013 with the team’s decision to exclude the 5 percent, as well as that Missouri owed the Rams $400,000 for overpaid sales taxes.

But the high court ordered the commission to reconsider that decision.

The lawsuit only dealt with six years of sales taxes, ending in 2013. The commission may need to consider how the football team handled Missouri’s sales taxes in the final years it was in St. Louis, which weren’t covered in the lawsuit.

As a result, the Rams’ final sales-tax bill may change.

The Missouri attorney general's office, which handled the case on the state's behalf, declined comment. The team’s lawyers did not immediately comment Tuesday.

Follow Jo on Twitter: @jmannies

Jo Mannies is a freelance journalist and former political reporter at St. Louis Public Radio.