§305.73. Rebates; sales and use tax for fiber-optic cable equipment and data center facility
equipment
A. As used in this Section, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to
them in this Subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) "Approved data center facility" means a data center facility that is located in
Louisiana and certified by Louisiana Economic Development.
(2) "Data center" and "data center facility" mean a facility, campus of facilities, or
interconnected facilities located within Louisiana which has a primary business purpose of
processing, storage, retrieval, or communication of data and was developed to power, cool,
secure, or connect its own equipment or the equipment of its customers.
(3)(a) "Data center equipment" means equipment or software purchased or leased for
the processing, storage, retrieval, or communication of data including all of the following:
(i) Servers, routers, connections, and other enabling machinery, equipment, software,
and hardware, regardless of whether the property is affixed to or incorporated into
immovable property used in the processing, storage, retrieval, or communication of data.
(ii) Equipment used in the operation of computer equipment or software, including
component parts, refreshments, replacements, and upgrades, regardless of whether the
property is affixed to or incorporated into immovable property.
(iii) Equipment necessary for the transformation, generation, distribution, or
management of electricity required to operate computer server equipment, including
substations, generators, uninterruptible energy equipment, fuel piping and storage, cabling,
duct banks, switches, switchboards, batteries, testing equipment, and backup generators.
(iv) Equipment necessary to cool and maintain a controlled environment for the
operation of computer servers and the data center, including chillers, refrigerant piping, fuel
piping and storage, adiabatic and free cooling systems, cooling towers, water softeners, air
handling units, indoor direct exchange units, fans, ducting, and filters.
(v) Water conservation systems, including facilities or equipment designed to collect,
conserve, and reuse water.
(vi) Computer server equipment, including chassis, networking equipment, switches,
racks, fiber optic and copper cabling, trays, and conduit.
(vii) Monitoring equipment and security systems.
(viii) Conduits, ducting, and fiber-optic and copper cabling, including any such items
that are located outside of the data center but within Louisiana, directly related to connecting
one or more distributed approved data center locations.
(ix) Equipment, materials, and services necessary for the development, acquisition,
construction, expansion, and renovation of a qualified data center, including but not limited
to construction and building materials, site characterization and assessment services,
engineering services, and design services used directly and exclusively in a qualified data
center.
(x) Modular data centers and pre-assembled components used in the manufacturing
of such centers.
(xi) Pre-assembled components of any item listed in this Subparagraph.
(b) The term "data center equipment" shall not mean office equipment or supplies,
equipment or supplies used primarily in sales activities or transportation activities, tangible
personal property not listed in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph that is incorporated into
immovable property, and tangible personal property that is rented or leased for a term of one
year or less.
(4) "Department" means the Department of Revenue.
(5) "Fiber-optic cable equipment" means:
(a) Telecommunications fiber.
(b) Wires.
(c) Poles.
(d) Supports.
(e) Lashing cable.
(f) Conduit.
(g) Communication handholes.
(h) Customer premise equipment.
(6) "Unserved area" means an area that has service levels below the minimum
acceptable level of fixed broadband service as defined in 7 U.S.C. 950bb(e)(1).
B.(1) A winning bidder that is awarded a census block by the Federal
Communications Commission in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Auction shall be
eligible for a rebate of state and local sales and use taxes paid by the winning bidder on
fiber-optic cable equipment used to distribute fixed and mobile broadband networks to
eligible rural unserved areas in Louisiana. The amount of the rebate shall equal fifty percent
of the sales and use tax paid by the winning bidder on fiber-optic cable equipment.
(2) Each item of fiber-optic cable equipment shall be eligible for only a single rebate
pursuant to this Section. Subsequent transactions involving the sale or resale of the same
item of fiber-optic cable equipment shall not be eligible for any rebate authorized pursuant
to this Section.
(3) The rebate authorized pursuant to this Section shall not be allowed for the
purchases of fiber-optic cable equipment that are paid for with state or federal funds, unless
the state or federal funds are reported as taxable income or are structured as repayable loans.
C.(1)(a) Subject to the limitation provided in Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph, an
approved data center facility shall be eligible for a rebate, to be paid annually, of Louisiana
state and local sales and use taxes paid for the purchase of eligible data center equipment and
for sales tax paid on expenditures for the development, acquisition, construction, lease,
repair, refurbishment, expansion, and renovation of a qualified data center, including but not
limited to costs of construction and building materials, site characterization and assessment,
engineering, design, and labor and installation services used directly and exclusively in a
qualified data center.
(b) Only purchases made on or after July 1, 2024, shall be eligible for the rebate
authorized in this Subsection.
(2) To be certified as an approved data center by Louisiana Economic Development,
the data center facility operator shall provide a sworn attestation that the project will create
a minimum of fifty new direct, permanent jobs in Louisiana and intends to expend at least
two hundred million dollars in new capital investment in Louisiana on or after July 1, 2024,
and before July 1, 2029. An approved data center shall be issued a Direct Payment Number
in accordance with the applicable provisions of R.S. 47:303.1.
(3)(a) A facility that has been certified as an approved data center facility shall enter
into an agreement with Louisiana Economic Development that comports with the
requirements of this Paragraph.
(b) The agreement shall provide a term of rebate eligibility, an initial term of twenty
years, a list of all eligible recipients of the rebate, and language that authorizes the state to
terminate the agreement and recapture any rebates if the data center facility fails to fulfill, or
Louisiana Economic Development determines that the facility will be unable to fulfill, its
statutory and contractual obligations.
(c) Upon the expiration of the initial term of the agreement, Louisiana Economic
Development may renew the agreement for an additional ten years.
(d) Louisiana Economic Development may include in the agreement any additional
conditions that it deems appropriate.
(4) The department may utilize any collection remedy authorized by R.S. 47:1561.2
for any rebates subject to recapture based on termination of the agreement with Louisiana
Economic Development or a determination that the purchase did not qualify for the rebate.
If a rebate is subject to recapture, the approved data center facility shall reimburse the
department or its agent for any costs incurred.
D.(1) Requests for the rebates of state sales and use taxes pursuant to the provisions
of this Section shall be processed by the department. A taxpayer shall request a state rebate
using the form and in the manner prescribed by the department.
(2) A taxpayer who requests a rebate pursuant to Subsection B of this Section shall
submit documentation to the department evidencing the purchase of fiber-optic cable
equipment and that the purchaser is a winning bidder that was awarded a census block by the
Federal Communications Commission in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Auction.
(3) A taxpayer who requests a rebate pursuant to Subsection C of this Section shall
do all of the following:
(a) Obtain certification from Louisiana Economic Development that the data center
is an approved data center facility eligible to receive a rebate provided for in Subsection C
of this Section, in accordance with administrative rules. A copy of the certification shall be
submitted to the department with the request for the rebate.
(b) Submit documentation to the department evidencing the purchases eligible for
the rebate.
E.(1) Requests for the rebate of local sales and use taxes pursuant to the provisions
of this Section shall be processed by the appropriate local taxing authority. A taxpayer shall
claim a local rebate using the form and in the manner required by the local taxing authority.
(2) A taxpayer who requests a rebate pursuant to Subsection B of this Section shall
submit documentation to the local taxing authority evidencing the purchase of fiber-optic
cable equipment and documentation evidencing that the purchaser is a winning bidder that
was awarded a census block by the Federal Communications Commission in the Rural
Digital Opportunity Fund Auction.
(3) A taxpayer who requests a rebate pursuant to Subsection C of this Section shall
submit documentation to the applicable local taxing authority evidencing the purchases
eligible for the rebate.
F.(1) The department and the Louisiana Uniform Local Sales Tax Board,
respectively, may promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the Administrative
Procedure Act as necessary for the implementation of this Section.
(2) The rules of the department may include, without limitation, the method for
processing and paying rebates of state sales and use taxes authorized by this Section. The
method may comprise a first-come, first-served system, or any other procedure which the
department, in its discretion, may find beneficial for administration of the rebate.
Acts 2020 1st Ex. Sess., No. 35, §1, eff. July 1, 2020; Acts 2024, No. 730, §1, eff.
July 1, 2024.