Online shoppers get ready. Louisiana is beefing up its efforts to collect taxes on purchases made from out-of-state internet retailers.
Residents who bought products last year from online companies that don’t have a physical store in Louisiana—and who didn’t pay state sales taxes on those purchases—will begin receiving notifications this month from the retailers telling them they owe taxes to the state.
This is the first year the notice letters, to be mailed by Jan. 31, will be sent to shoppers, the Louisiana Department of Revenue says. But the letters will be an annual occurrence under legislation that was passed in 2016.
“We don’t want people to be surprised when the notices arrive,” says Revenue Secretary Kimberly Robinson.
The notice letters are supposed to include the total amount made in purchases in the prior calendar year, including a breakdown of dates and purchase amounts, along with a “clear statement that Louisiana use tax may be due,” the revenue department says.
State financial analysts don’t have an estimate of how much might be collected in tax payments by sending the notification letters.
