§302. Imposition of tax

            A. There is hereby levied a tax upon the sale at retail, the use, the consumption, the distribution, and the storage for use or consumption in this state, of each item or article of tangible personal property or digital product, as defined in this Chapter. The levy of the tax shall be as follows:

            (1) At the rate of two percent of the sales price of each item or article of tangible personal property or digital product when sold at retail in this state; the tax to be computed on gross sales for the purpose of remitting the amount of tax due the state, and to include each and every retail sale.

            (2) At the rate of two percent of the cost price of each item or article of tangible personal property or digital product when the same is not sold but is used, consumed, distributed, or stored for use or consumption in this state; provided there shall be no duplication of the tax.

            B. There is hereby levied a tax upon the lease or rental within this state of each item or article of tangible personal property or digital product, as defined in this Chapter. The levy of the tax shall be as follows:

            (1) At the rate of two percent of the gross proceeds derived from the lease or rental of tangible personal property or a digital product, as defined in this Chapter, where the lease or rental of the property or product is an established business, or part of an established business, or the same is incidental or germane to the business.

            (2) At the rate of two percent of the monthly lease or rental price paid by lessee or rentee, or contracted or agreed to be paid by lessee or rentee to the owner of the tangible personal property or digital product.

            C.(1) There is hereby levied a tax upon all sales of services, as herein defined, in this state, at the rate of two percent of the amounts paid or charged for such services.

            (2) The tax levied in this Section shall be collected from the dealer, as defined herein, shall be paid at the time and in the manner hereinafter provided, and shall be in addition to all other taxes, whether levied in the form of excise, license, or privilege taxes, and shall be in addition to taxes levied under the provisions of Chapter 3 of Subtitle II of this Title.

            D.(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the state and local use taxes levied on motor vehicles brought into this state by a new resident shall not exceed ninety dollars after application of the credits provided for in R.S. 47:303(A)(3) and 337.86, provided all of the following conditions are met:

            (a) The vehicle is primarily used for personal purposes.

            (b) The vehicle was previously registered in the name of the new resident in any other state or was previously leased to the new resident in another state.

            (c) The vehicle is registered within ninety days of being brought into this state.

            (2) The taxes collected on motor vehicles of new residents in accordance with this Subsection shall be paid to the local tax authorities in equal portions.

            E. No exemption from the state sales and use tax granted after the effective date of this Act and granted pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter or Chapter 2-A of Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 shall be applicable to any sales and use tax levied by any local governmental subdivision or school board unless the state exemption specifically provides that it applies to such sales and use tax levies. In the absence of any such specific application of the state exemption to sales and use tax levies of any local governmental subdivision or school board, any state exemption granted pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter or Chapter 2-A of Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 shall be applicable only to the levy and collection of the state sales and use tax.

            F-J. Repealed by Acts 2024, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 11, §4, eff. Dec. 4, 2024.

            K. An additional tax shall be levied as follows:

            (1) At the rate of four percent of the sales price of each item or article of tangible personal property or digital product when sold at retail in this state; the tax to be computed on gross sales for the purpose of remitting the amount of tax due the state, and to include each and every retail sale.

            (2) At the rate of four percent of the cost price of each item or article of tangible personal property or digital product when the same is not sold but is used, consumed, distributed, or stored for use or consumption in this state; provided there shall be no duplication of the tax.

            (3) The tax levied under this Subsection shall be in addition to the tax levied upon such sales under Subsection A of this Section and any other tax levied under other Sections of this Chapter, and shall be subject to the same definitions, exemptions, tax credits, penalties, and limitations now or hereafter prescribed in this Chapter.

            (4) The tax levied under this Subsection shall be paid in lieu of any sales or use tax which would otherwise be levied and collected by a local political jurisdiction of this state.

            (5) The tax levied under this Subsection shall be levied and collected only from vendors who qualify as a "dealer" in this state solely by virtue of engaging in regular or systematic solicitation of a consumer market in this state by the distribution of catalogs, periodicals, advertising fliers, or other advertising, or by means of print, radio, or television media, including but not limited to television shopping channels, by mail, telegraphy, telephone, computer database, cable, optic, microwave, or other communication system. A vendor who qualifies as a dealer in this state as provided in R.S. 47:301(4) is prohibited from collecting the tax imposed under this Subsection in lieu of collecting the sales and use tax imposed by a political subdivision of this state which tax is remitted directly to the political subdivision.

            (6) The taxes levied under this Subsection shall be collected by the Department of Revenue, advised by the Louisiana Uniform Local Sales Tax Board. The secretary shall assess a collection fee, not to exceed one percent of the proceeds of the tax, as reimbursement for the actual cost of collection of the tax. The department shall keep the board informed on a regular basis of the collection and distribution of the taxes collected, and the board shall receive a copy of the executive budget submission of the Local Tax Division of the Board of Tax Appeals.

            (7)(a) From the current collections of the tax collected under this Subsection, the secretary shall make the following distributions:

            (i) The secretary shall annually provide for an interagency transfer in the amount of one hundred and thirty-two thousand dollars to the Department of State Civil Service, Board of Tax Appeals, to be expended exclusively for the purposes of its Local Tax Division.

            (ii) All monies remaining after satisfaction of the requirements of Item (i) of this Subparagraph shall be distributed quarterly to the central local sales and use tax collector or, if none, the parish governing authority according to population. The central local sales and use tax collector or the parish governing authority shall at no charge distribute the tax proceeds received from the secretary to each political subdivision within the parish which levies a sales and use tax or receives a portion of the proceeds of a parishwide sales and use tax levy, in accordance with each such political subdivision's pro rata share of local sales and use tax receipts collected on all other transactions subject to local sales and use taxes during the most recent state fiscal year for which data is available within thirty days of receipt of the proceeds.

            (b) The amount of local tax specified in Item (a)(i) of this Paragraph as transferred to the Department of State Civil Service, Board of Tax Appeals, Local Tax Division shall be increased by fifty-five thousand dollars on July 1, 2015, by thirty-two thousand dollars on July 1, 2016, and by five thousand dollars on the first day of each of the subsequent fiscal years. The amounts specified in this Subparagraph and Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph shall be transferred by the secretary within the first thirty days of each fiscal year, and the Department of State Civil Service, Board of Tax Appeals, may retain all funds that are transferred as directed in this Subparagraph and Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph. The amount provided for in Item (a)(i) of this Paragraph shall also be increased when necessary to conform to an amount appropriated by law.

            L-T. Repealed by Acts 2024, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 11, §4, eff. Dec. 4, 2024.

            U. Collection of consumer use tax. It is the duty of the secretary of the Department of Revenue to collect all taxes imposed pursuant to this Chapter and Chapters 2-A and 2-B of this Subtitle which may be due upon the sale by a remote retailer of tangible personal property, digital products, or services in Louisiana. The secretary is authorized and directed to employ all means available to ensure the collection of the tax in an equitable, efficient, and effective manner.

            V.(1) In addition to the definition of "dealer" as provided in R.S. 47:301(4) for purposes of the consumer use tax, the term "dealer" includes every person who manufactures or produces tangible personal property or digital products for sale at retail, for use or consumption, or distribution, or for storage to be used or consumed in a taxing jurisdiction. "Dealer" is further defined to mean:

            (a) Any person engaging in business in the taxing jurisdiction which shall mean the solicitation of business through an independent contractor or any other representative pursuant to an agreement with a Louisiana resident or business under which the resident or business, for a commission, referral fee, or other consideration of any kind, directly or indirectly, refers potential customers, whether by link on an internet website, an in-person oral presentation, telemarketing, or otherwise to the seller. If the cumulative gross receipts from sales of tangible personal property or digital products to customers in this state who are referred to the person through an agreement exceeds fifty thousand dollars during the preceding twelve months, the presumption regarding the status of that person as a dealer may be rebutted if the person can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the secretary, that he cannot reasonably be expected to have gross receipts in excess of fifty thousand dollars for the succeeding twelve months.

            (b) Any person selling tangible personal property, digital products, or services, the use of which is taxed pursuant to this Chapter, who:

            (i) Sells the same or a substantially similar line of products as a Louisiana retailer under the same or substantially similar business name, using the same trademarks, service marks, or trade names that are the same or substantially similar to those used by the Louisiana retailer.

            (ii) Solicits business and develops and maintains a market in Louisiana through an agent, salesman, independent contractor, solicitor, or other representative pursuant to an agreement with a Louisiana resident or business, hereinafter referred to collectively as an "affiliated agent", under which the affiliated agent, for a commission, referral fee, or other consideration of any kind engages in activities in this state that inure to the benefit of the person in the person's development or maintenance of a market for its goods or services in the state, to the extent that those activities of the affiliated agent are sufficient to satisfy the nexus requirement of the United States Constitution. For purposes of this Subparagraph, such activities of the affiliated agent shall include referral of potential customers to the person, either directly or indirectly, whether by link on an internet website or otherwise.

            (c) In addition to those persons established as dealers according to Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph, the provisions of this Subsection shall be presumed by a taxing authority to apply to any person who holds a substantial ownership interest, directly or through a subsidiary, in a retailer maintaining sales locations in Louisiana, or to any person who is owned in whole or in substantial part by a retailer maintaining sales locations in Louisiana, or by a parent or subsidiary thereof. For purposes of this Paragraph, "substantial ownership interest" means affiliated persons with respect to each other where one of such persons has an ownership interest of more than five percent, whether direct or indirect, in the other, or where an ownership interest of more than five percent, whether direct or indirect, is held in each of such persons by another person or by a group of other persons which are affiliated persons with respect to each other.

            (2) A dealer, as defined in and for the purposes of this Subsection, shall file all applicable sales and use tax returns and remittances through the electronic filing options available for such purposes. If neither the dealer nor any of its affiliates as defined in R.S. 47:340.1 meet the economic nexus thresholds set forth in R.S. 47:301(4)(m)(i)(aa) or (bb), the dealer may collect the tax authorized by Paragraph (K)(5) of this Section. If either the dealer or any of its affiliates as defined in R.S. 47:340.1 meet the economic nexus thresholds set forth in R.S. 47:301(4)(m)(i)(aa) or (bb), the dealer shall collect state and local sales and use tax on remote sales for delivery into the state and remit to the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers.

            (3) The provisions of this Subsection holding that certain business activities conducted by certain persons establishes the person as a dealer for the purposes of sales and use tax levied by the state shall not be used in the determination of whether such persons are liable for the payment of income and franchise taxes levied by the state.

            W.(1) Nothing in Subsection K of this Section shall prohibit a taxpayer from electing to separately file with the applicable parish sales and use tax collector or central collection commission a use tax return and to remit the correct and full amount of use tax due pursuant to the provisions of all applicable local ordinances, hereinafter referred to as "paid local use tax return".

            (2) If a dealer has withheld and remitted tax for a specific purchase pursuant to the provisions of Subsection K of this Section from a taxpayer who subsequently files a paid use local tax return, the taxpayer may file an annual use tax refund request with the secretary, hereinafter referred to as "refund request".

            (3) A refund request shall be filed in a manner to be determined by the secretary, which may include electronic filing. The refund request may be made once per calendar year, and shall be accompanied by all relevant paid local use tax returns. If the delivery and use of the taxable property will occur in a parish in which there is no sales and use tax imposed by any local taxing authority, an affidavit confirming such will be accepted in lieu of paid local use tax returns.

            (4) The secretary shall pay any refund due pursuant to this Subsection from current collections of any tax levied pursuant to Subsection K of this Section.

            (5) The denial of any refund, or the failure to act within one year of the filing of the refund request, shall be appealable in the same manner as is provided for in R.S. 47:1625.

            (6) Until the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers enforces collection and remittance of state and local sales and use tax based on the applicable state and local rates and bases, dealers as defined in R.S. 47:301(4)(m) shall specifically collect the additional tax authorized by Subsection K of this Section and shall file all applicable sales and use tax returns. Notice of enforcement by the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers shall be published in a policy statement as authorized by LAC 61:III.101 no later than thirty days prior to the effective date of the enforcement.

            X-CC. Repealed by Acts 2024, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 11, §4, eff. Dec. 4, 2024.

            Acts 1962, No. 172, §1; Acts 1968, Ex.Sess., No. 5, §1; Acts 1978, No. 205, §2, eff. June 29, 1978; Acts 1987, No. 869, §1; Acts 1988, No. 842, §1, eff. Aug. 1, 1988; Acts 1988, 2nd Ex. Sess., No. 11, §1, eff. Oct. 27, 1988; HCR 160, 1989 R.S., eff. July 1, 1989; HCR 1, 1989 2d E.S., eff. July 1, 1989; Acts 1990, No. 155, §1, eff. July 1, 1990; Acts 1990, No. 386, §1, eff. July 10, 1990; Acts 1991, 1st E.S., No. 4, §1, eff. July 1, 1991; Acts 1992, No. 563, §1, eff. July 1, 1992; Acts 1992, No. 926, §1, eff. July 1, 1992; Acts 1994, No. 18, §1; Acts 1994, No. 20, §1, eff. July 1, 1994; Acts 1996, No. 5, §1, eff. July 1, 1996; Acts 1998, No. 1, §1, eff. July 1, 1998; Acts 2000, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 18, §1, eff. July 2, 2000; Acts 2000, No. 22, §5, eff. April 1, 2016; Acts 2001, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 5, §1, eff. March 27, 2001; Acts 2001, No. 1175, §§1 and 3 (conditional eff. dates – see notes below); Acts 2002, No. 22, §1, eff. July 1, 2002; Acts 2002, No. 49, §1, eff. July 1, 2002; Acts 2003, No. 73, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2004, 1^st Ex. Sess., No. 4, §1, eff. July 1, 2004; Acts 2004, 1^st Ex. Sess., No. 5, §1, eff. July 1, 2004; Acts 2005, 1^st Ex. Sess., No. 48, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2006; Acts 2007, No. 358, §3, eff. Aug. 1, 2007; Acts 2007, No. 424, §1, eff. July 1, 2007; Acts 2007, No. 439, §1, eff. July 1, 2007; Acts 2007, No. 471, §2, eff. July 1, 2007; Acts 2007, No. 480, §1; Acts 2009, No. 455, §1, eff. July 1, 2009; Acts 2009, No. 473, §1, eff. July 9, 2009; Acts 2013, No. 425, §1, eff. July 1, 2013; Acts 2014, No. 640, §2, eff. June 12, 2014; Acts 2015, No. 210, §1, eff. June 23, 2015; Acts 2016, 1^st Ex. Sess., No. 9, §1, eff. April 1, 2016; Acts 2016, 1^st Ex. Sess., No. 22, §1, eff. March 14, 2016; Acts 2016, 1^st Ex. Sess., No. 25, §§1, 3, eff. April 1, 2016; Acts 2016, No. 335, §1, eff. June 5, 2016; Acts 2016, No. 569, §1, eff. July 1, 2017; Acts 2016, 2^nd Ex. Sess., No. 12, §1, eff. June 28, 2016; Acts 2017, No. 274, §2, eff. June 16, 2017; Acts 2017, No. 279, §1, eff. July 1, 2017; Acts 2017, No. 340, §1, eff. June 22, 2017; Acts 2017, No. 395, §1, eff. July 1, 2018; Acts 2017, No. 424, §1, eff. June 26, 2017; Acts 2017, No. 426, §1, eff. June 23, 2017; Acts 2018, 2^nd Ex. Sess., No. 5, §1, eff. June 12, 2018; Acts 2018, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 1, §§1, 2, eff. July 1, 2018; Acts 2019, No. 102, §1, eff. July 1, 2019; Acts 2019, No. 199, §1; Acts 2019, No. 312, §4, eff. July 1, 2019; Acts 2019, No. 331, §4, eff. July 1, 2019; Acts 2019, No. 360, §§1, 2; Acts 2019, No. 367, §1, eff. June 18, 2019; Acts 2020, No. 216, §1, eff. July 1, 2020; Acts 2020, No. 278, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2021; Acts 2020, 2^nd Ex. Sess., No. 16, §1, eff. Oct. 28, 2020; Acts 2021, No. 7, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2021; Acts 2021, No. 53, §1, eff. June 4, 2021; Acts 2021, No. 166, §1, eff. July 1, 2021; Acts 2021, No. 299, §1, eff. July 1, 2021; Acts 2021, No. 449, §1, eff. June 23, 2021; Acts 2023, No. 288, §1, eff. July 1, 2023; Acts 2023, No. 297, §2; Acts 2024, No. 307, §1, May 28, 2024; Acts 2024, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 10, §1, eff. Dec. 4, 2024; Acts 2024, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 11, §§2, 4, eff. Dec. 4, 2024.

NOTE: Section 5 of Acts 2001, No. 1175, provides that "The intent of this Act is to amend Louisiana law so that it conforms to the federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act, P.L. 106-252, codified at 4 U.S.C. Sections 116 through 126. If it is determined by the legislative oversight committees of the Department of Revenue, which are set forth in R.S. 49:968, that a court of competent jurisdiction has entered a final judgment on the merits that (1) is based on federal or state law; (2) is no longer subject to appeal; and (3) substantially limits or impairs the essential elements of Section 1 or 2 of this Act, then the provisions enacted by such Sections shall be repealed, and Sections 3 and 4 of this Act shall be effective, all as of the date of entry of such judgment."

NOTE: See Acts 2018, 2^nd E.S., No. 5 and Acts 2019, No. 360, re: applicability.

NOTE: See Acts 2019, No. 199, re: applicability.