Missouri Supreme Court rejects St. Charles County sales tax refund

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- The Missouri Supreme Court has rejected St. Charles County's request for a refund of nearly $1 million in state sales tax.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the sales tax was collected at the county-owned Family Arena.

The court said admission tickets, food, drinks and other items sold at the arena didn't qualify for a sales tax exemption that's allowed by state law for government-owned facilities.

The court also says the law allows the exemption only if "all the proceeds" of the sales went to the government. Some proceeds at the arena went to entertainers, sports teams and other entities.

The court's unanimous ruling issued last week upheld decisions by the state Revenue Department and an appeals commissioner.