Office Depot, Inc. v. Dir. of Revenue

Office Depot, Inc., which is incorporated in the state of Delaware and headquartered in Florida, contracts with a printer to have catalogs printed in Illinois and Indiana. The Postal Service delivers the catalogs to customers in Missouri. Office Depot accrued and paid almost $85,000 in Missouri use tax based on the cost of the printed catalogs between 2008 and 2010. Office Depot filed an application for use tax refund for the amount it paid. The Director of Revenue denied Office Depot’s refund claim. The Administrative Hearing Commission reversed, finding that Office Depot was entitled to a full refund because use tax may be imposed only if Office Depot used the catalogs in Missouri but that Office Depot did not. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Office Depot did not exercise any right or power incident to ownership or control over the catalogs in Missouri, and therefore, it did not “use” the catalogs in Missouri. Consequently, Office Depot was entitled to a refund of use tax under the use tax statute. View "Office Depot, Inc. v. Dir. of Revenue" on Justia Law