ST. LOUIS — The City of St. Louis announced it will launch a "transparent and easy-to-understand" refund process for people who were taxed for remote work done outside of the city from 2020 through 2023 after a judge's ruling last month.
In a news release, Collector of Revenue Gregory F.X. Daly said the city has set aside $26 million for the refunds. Daly said the city will waive the statute of limitations for the 2020, 2021 and 2022 refunds for 90 days, from July 1 through Sept. 30, 2024, so workers can apply for refunds.
A form for each tax year must be submitted separately.
“We respect the Court’s decision and have put in place a simple process compliant with the Court’s order," Daly said in the release. "Our goal is to provide a transparent and easy-to-understand process for people to make first-time refund applications for remote work for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022."
The release said the refund applications will be verified by the collector of revenue's office, and refunds will be processed in the order in which they are received. Payments should be completed by the end of 2024, the release said.
Requests for refunds for remote work for the tax years 2020, 2021 and 2022 filed after Oct. 1, 2024, will be subject to all applicable deadlines and statutes of limitations, the press release from the city said.
The press release said more information will be available on the collector of revenue's website by July 1. The Collector has also already updated its form, click here to view and download it.
The announcement ends a three-year legal battle over earnings taxes collected on remote work done outside of the city. It began with six people filing a lawsuit over remote work done outside the city of St. Louis that was taxed under the city's earnings tax. The plaintiffs said their refund applications were refused despite similar applications being approved in previous years.
The group hired Bevis Schock and Mark Milton to get their money back.
In early 2023, a circuit court judge ruled the city would have to refund remote workers who don't live in the city. Last month, Judge Michael Wright upheld that ruling, putting the City of St. Louis on the hood to repay millions of dollars in earnings taxes collected from people who worked remotely for St. Louis-based companies.
"There is no change in the law, these guys didn’t owe the money and that’s why we prevailed," Milton said.
Plaintiff Mark Boles told 5 On Your Side he was expecting $800 to be returned.
"For me it was taking my kids out to dinner, doing something for me for a change, or paying a random bill, or helping with groceries now. At the time I wasn’t upset with the money, it was a principle thing that it was fine yesterday and today it was not," Boles said.
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