Former state rep files lawsuit challenging Joplin sales tax

The lawsuit that the most powerful man in Missouri, Rep. Ron Richard, was unable to prevent, was filed today in Jasper County Circuit Court.

Former Rep. Tom Burcham, R-Farmington, claims Joplin's law enforcement sales tax is illegal. Burcham has had success in similar lawsuits, including one at Purdy and is also challenging Granby's sales tax.

As Columbia Daily Tribune reporter Terry Ganey recently noted, a law backed by Richard would have prevented this type of lawsuit, was stopped dead in its tracks by House Majority Leader (and Ethics Committee chairman) Steve Tilley, who has accepted $110,000 this year from a committee led by Burcham.