§337.13.  Collection of sales and use taxes by political subdivisions

A.  Any sales and use tax levied by taxing authorities located within a single parish may be collected by a single tax collector for that parish.

B.  In each parish, every taxing authority that levies a sales and use tax in that parish may contract and make such agreement between and among themselves with respect to the joint collection, enforcement, and administration of the sales and use taxes as may be deemed proper by their respective governing authorities.  Such agreement, when concluded, shall be in writing and shall include a statement of the financial obligations of each of the parties to the agreement and may provide for the joint use of funds, facilities, personnel, or any combination thereof deemed necessary to accomplish the purposes of the agreement.  No provision of such agreement shall have the effect of providing for a donation, in whole or in part, of the public funds or services of one of the parties for the benefit of the other.  Such agreement may also provide for the collection, enforcement, and administration of taxes other than sales and use taxes which are levied by taxing authorities.

C.(1)  Taxing authorities which levy sales and use taxes in a parish are hereby authorized to create a joint sales and use tax commission as an independent agency and instrumentality to collect, enforce, and administer the sales and use tax levied by all of the taxing authorities in that parish.  The commission shall include two members appointed by each governing authority of each taxing authority which has collections equal to or greater than twenty percent of the total sales and use tax collections in the parish; however, at no time shall there be fewer than three members serving on the commission.  If any parish has only one taxing authority which has collections equal to or greater than twenty percent of the total collections in the parish, one representative shall be appointed from the next largest authority to serve on the commission in addition to the two members appointed from the one authority with twenty percent of the collections or more.  The expenses of the commission shall be paid by the taxing authorities appointing members to the commission on a proportional basis computed from the annual tax collections.

(2)  If any employee of a taxing authority that levies a sales and use tax becomes an employee of the commission, that employee may remain a member of the retirement system of which he had been a member prior to the enactment of this Section and shall retain his rights to the same employee benefits that he had been entitled to and participating in prior to the enactment of this Section.

(3)  The commission shall be a body corporate under such corporate name and style as shall be provided for in such agreement.  It shall have the power to sue and be sued and shall continue in existence for so long as the parties to the agreement may specify and shall have such powers and duties with respect to the operation and management of the commission as may be provided for in the agreement creating the commission.

D.  The commission and any taxing authority not represented on the commission may enter into an agreement providing for the collection, enforcement, and administration of any sales and use taxes authorized by said taxing authority.  The commission may charge other taxing authorities a collection fee based on a percentage of collections.

E.  The commission may, at its option, contract and make agreements with other local political subdivisions to collect taxes other than sales and use taxes.

F.  The commission may establish a sales tax advisory committee, consisting of members representing each taxing jurisdiction for which the commission collects taxes.  The advisory committee may make such investigations and recommendations as it deems appropriate to promote the proper administration of the commission.

G.  This Section shall not be construed to prohibit the contracting between and among parishes for the collection, enforcement, and administration of sales and use taxes; nor shall it be construed to prohibit the state from collecting sales and use taxes or to prohibit the state from collecting sales and use taxes levied by a taxing authority at the request of the political subdivision as provided in R.S. 47:337.26.

Acts 2003, No. 73, §1, eff. July 1, 2003.