Sales Tax Changes:

The Louisiana Legislature has simplified the effective state tax rates for most taxable transactions, eliminating the previous five potential tax rates (as applicable to various exemptions) to two possible rates: either fully exempt from state tax or  4.45% for most purchases (down from 5%).  Effective July 1, 2018, House Bill (“HB”) 10 of the 2018 Third Extraordinary Session of the Louisiana Legislature has amended La. R.S. 47:321.1(A), (B), and (C) reducing the Louisiana state sales tax rate from 1 % to 0.45%. Accordingly, Louisiana sales at retail, taxable use and rentals of tangible personal, as well as taxable services will be subject to tax at this rate.  Accordingly, sellers qualifying as “dealers” under state law should collect state taxes at the 4.45% rate as of the effective date of July 1, 2018.  The Louisiana Department of Revenue quickly issued guidance, Revenue Information Bulletin No. 18-016 (June 24, 2018), providing that, if a dealer mistakenly collects at the 5 percent (5%) rate on or after July 1, 2018, then the dealer must remit the excess sales tax collected to the Louisiana Department of Revenue, and that any excess sales taxes collected should be reported on Line 8 of the Sales Tax Return Form R-1029.

With respect to hotel or room rentals in Orleans or Jefferson parish, the sales tax collected by LDR on room rentals decreased to 9.45% (Column D of the applicable return decreased to 2.45%). For lodging facilities with less than 10 rooms, the rate is now 4.45%.

Also, beginning July 1, 2018, the overall state sales tax rate for business utilities will be 2% under La. R.S. 47:302. The rate remains 4% through June 30, 2018 (the rate had previously been scheduled to be reduced to 1% on July 1 through March 31, 2019).   Residential uses remain exempted.  Both the new additional tax rate of 0.45% pursuant to La. R.S. 47:321.1 and the sales tax rate of 2% on business utilities under La. R.S. 47:302 are set to sunset on June 30, 2025, unless the Legislature decides at some point to make additional changes.

The bill also removes various exemptions by listing those items that remain exempt, or will become exempt, which include but are not limited to:

  • Other constructions permanently attached to the ground (2% –> 0%)
  • Sales of electricity for chlor-alkali manufacturing (3% –> 0%)
  • Rentals or leases of oilfield property for re-lease or re-rental (3% –> 0%)
  • Labor, materials, services and supplies used for repair, renovation or conversion of drilling rig machinery and equipment (3% –> 0%)
  • Repairs and materials used on drilling rigs and equipment (3% –> 0%)
  • Installation charges on tangible personal property (0% –> 0%)
  • Tangible personal property intended for resale (0% –> 0%)
  • Sale of property for lease or rental (2% –> 0%)
  • Sales of materials for further processing (0% –> 0%)

For the full list of changes in tax rates set to take effect on July 1, 2018 see Louisiana Department of Revenue’s publication, R-1002(07-18).

Beer League Decision – Gallonage Tax

Are retailers off the hook when it comes to the City of New Orleans gallonage tax? On June 27, 2018, the Louisiana Supreme Court handed down its decision in Beer Industry League of Louisiana, et al. v. The City of New Orleans, et al., which challenged the constitutionality of a recently amended City of New Orleans ordinance that levied a “gallonage tax” upon “dealers” who handle high content alcoholic beverages in the City of New Orleans.  New Orleans City Code Section 10-501 imposes “excise or license taxes” upon “dealers of alcoholic beverages” pursuant to the prices and rates outlined in the ordinance.  New Orleans City Code Section 10-511 states that the taxes are to be collected:

… from the dealer who first handles the alcoholic beverages in the City. If for any reason the dealer who first handled the taxable alcoholic beverages has escaped payment of the taxes, those taxes shall be collected from any dealer in whose hands the taxable beverages are found. 

A “dealer” is defined in the New Orleans Code of Ordinances at Section 10-1 as:

… any person who, as a business, manufactures, blends, rectifies, distills, processes, imports, stores, uses, handles, holds, sells, offers for sale, solicits orders for the sale of, distributes, delivers, serves or transports any alcoholic beverage in the city or engages therein in any business transaction relating to any such beverage.

The Beer Industry League of Louisiana, Wine and Spirits Foundation of Louisiana, Inc. and Louisiana Restaurant Association, Inc. (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) claim that the ordinance is unlawful and unconstitutional because it imposes an occupational license tax or excise tax upon wholesale dealers of alcoholic beverages. The City claims that the tax is a lawful occupational tax.  The tax in question has existed for years, but it was not previously enforced or collected.  After the trial court denied Plaintiffs’ request for an injunction prohibiting the collection of the gallonage tax, the City began collecting the gallonage taxes from wholesale dealers last spring.

In considering cross-motions for summary judgment, the trial court held that the ordinance was unlawful and unconstitutional because it was a direct tax on alcoholic beverages as opposed to an occupational tax on a particular activity. The trial court reasoned that the tax was not exclusively imposed upon the wholesale dealer, but could be collected from any dealer in whose possession the alcoholic beverages are found.

The Louisiana Supreme Court focused solely upon the issue of whether the gallonage tax was to be considered an occupational license tax. The Court sided with the City and overruled the trial court, holding that the gallonage tax was an occupational license tax, and that the City was permitted to impose occupational license taxes in an amount not greater than that imposed by the State.  The Court did not discuss the possibility that the tax could be imposed upon a retailer pursuant to New Orleans City Code Section 10-511, which was one of the considerations of the trial court.

The City of New Orleans has been collecting the gallonage tax from wholesalers who have warehouses in or deliver alcoholic beverages of high alcoholic content to the City of New Orleans. However, the definition of dealer found in the New Orleans City Code and the language of Section 10-511 could be read expansively to cause retailers to be responsible for the gallonage tax if the wholesaler does not pay it.  While not explicitly stated, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruling suggests that wholesalers are the only class of dealer that would be responsible for this gallonage tax as an occupational license tax (despite the language of New Orleans City Code Section 10-511), as retailers are already subject to an occupational license tax imposed by City ordinance based upon gross revenues.

If you have questions or are not sure if these changes affect you or your business, please contact Kean Miller attorneys, Jaye Calhoun (504.293.5936), Jill Gautreaux (504.620.3366) or Willie Kolarik (225.620.3197).