Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee unanimously approved a bill to sharpen the ability of the Department of Revenue to collect sales tax on internet and other out- of-state retailers.
The Manship News Service reports that House Bill 1121 by Rep. Walt Leger, D-New Orleans, requires retailers to report certain information to help the state collect sales taxes that currently go largely unreported.
“It assists the consumer in the filing of their tax returns,” Leger says. “It doesn’t provide any information about the kind of purchases you’re making (to the Department of Revenue).”
Leger says retailers have two ways to comply with the law: to collect and remit sales tax to the state themselves or provide consumers and the Department of Revenue with the amount of money the individuals spent at the site.
He says purchasers would have to figure out for themselves whether their purchases are exempt from the state sales tax.
For example, medication or food for home consumption bought over the internet would not be subject to the state sales tax because they are exempt under the Louisiana Constitution. Louisiana should do everything it can to collect revenue to pay for education and healthcare in the state, Leger says.
“We need to be as aggressive as we can,” he says. “We have to be innovative just as these businesses are innovative in the way that they operate.
House Bill 1121 is modeled after a Colorado bill passed in 2010 which was upheld by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in February. That decision is on appeal.
The only vocal opponent of Leger’s bill, TechNet lobbyist Larry Murray, says Louisiana should wait to pass the law because of the pending litigation.
