A quick look at the winners…
· #1
Approved – a change in the legislative fiscal sessions from even to
odd-numbered years will allow legislators to each introduce five non-money bills
and unlimited local bills in a fiscal session and add an additional 15 days to
the session.
· #2
Approved – Are you ready…The Stelly Plan, will permanently exempt food, residential utilities
and prescription drugs from the state sales tax. It will change the
income tax brackets to reduce the tax on lower incomes and raise taxes on those
with higher incomes as well as eliminate the income tax deduction for excess
federal itemized deductions.
· #3 Approved – Grants legislative authority for
more flexibility in dealing with budget shortfalls by allowing (limited) cuts
in most funds currently protected by the Constitution.
· #4
Approved – Directs the termination of a public employee (state/local)
that has been convicted of a felony during employment after all appeals have
been exhausted. Currently such action is sort of in the hands of the agency leadership.
· #6 Approved – mandates a minimum pay
supplement to all full-time local law enforcement/firefighters. The supplement
is to be $300 per month. This is not new, in the past it has been paid,
however, there was no permanent funding and was in the hands of the
Legislature.
· #7
Approved – Will allow seniors to apply and meet an income eligibility
test only once to receive a property tax assessment instead of reapplying each
year.
Those
that failed were: #5- would have authorized property tax exemptions for
developers of retirement communities, #8-
would have authorized public universities to invest up to 50% of
endowments, #9- would have authorized the investment of 35% of Medicaid Trust
Funds,
#10-
would have created a Drought Protection Fund for farmers not using groundwater
in drought conditions, #11- would have exempted local property tax assessments
on offshore drilling rigs used outside territorial waters, #12- would have
allowed local coroner (Livingston) to run for reelection even if medical doctor
decides to run. Currently the position
must be filled by a medical doctor, unless no-such person qualifies for the
post.
------------------LATA-------------------------
The last issue published contained an article
concerning those persons that had recently retired and the experience that our
organization lost as a result of those retirements. In addition we also listed
several others that had made tremendous contributions to the organization.
Our friend Patrick S. brought to our
attention that we had omitted one very important person from that list. He is
right, and the one that was omitted was in fact my mentor many years ago when I
was the “greenhorn” of the field.
Joe Brown of Rapides Parish certainly has
earned the right to be listed with the likes of Babineaux,
Ballard, Bourgeois, Buchert, Buttagig,
What a select group…and without a doubt
there are others, however, these are the past players, as yours truly remembers
them, and they represent in excess of 400 years of tax experience.
And, there are an untold number of
outstanding industry representatives that have also made contributions to this
great organization. They also should take their rightful place among our past
leaders.
Joe B… I hope you know that my omitting your
name was certainly not a reflection of a lack respect and admiration, but, just
old age and mental capacity. For everything that you did for this organization
and for me on a personal level…once again, Thanks !
------------------LATA-----------------
Uniform Tax Code…
The Louisiana Legislative
will soon began its 2003 Regular Session with at least one item of interest on
its agenda to this organization.
The Uniform Tax Code (UTC), a long time
dream of the Legislative Committee, is once again alive and kicking. With the
assistance of Sen. Bill Jones our bill will again be introduced during the
session.
For those that may not know, this is
something that our Legislative Committee has been working on for a number of
years. After having been introduced once before, we agreed on a compromise
issue as the bill was pulled while in Committee.
This year it will be introduced as a package
of bills instead of just one as before. Upon passage, in its proposed form, the
UTC will standardize the definitions, exemptions and administrative procedures
for local sales tax authorities. There are also provisions for a tax court and
a method for the payment of both state and local sales taxes through a single
website.
The bills by Sen. Jones are SB551, SB 952,
SB835, SB708, SB674 and SB719. It is expected that the Louisiana Association of
Business and Industry (LABI) will also introduce its own version of the Uniform
Tax Code.
LATA Newsletter
Page III
Economic Development…
Another issue expected for the upcoming
session is an Occupational License Tax Bill dealing with local economic
development.
The bill, expected to be introduced by Sen.
John Hainkel, will allow with a two-thirds vote of a
municipal governing authority, a 50% increase in local occupational license tax
dedicated to economic development efforts.
-------------------LATA----------------------
Digital conversion equipment…
The Louisiana Department of Revenue has
issued a rule amendment to implement HB 124 (Act 61)(2002
Session), which provided an exclusion from sales tax for certain items of
digital television conversion equipment.
The rule is set to clarify the first
purchase of each item from the categories of digital television conversion
equipment listed in LA RS 47:301(16),(h),(I). A taxpayer who holds a Federal Communications License issued
under 47 CFR Part 73, is excluded from the definition of tangible personal
property on these categories for state
sales tax purposes.
Political Subdivisions are authorized to
adopt similar exclusions from their local sales taxes.
License holders must submit an annual report
to the Department on which they list the purchases of digital equipment for
which they have claimed a tax exclusion. This annual
report must include all information required by the Department to verify the
value of the exclusions claimed.
(Admin Code 61:I.4031)
----------------------LATA------------------------
The best tranquilizer: The two tablets Moses brought down from the mount…
The
Louisiana Department of Revenue clarifies HB 158 (Act 67)(2002
Session), which took effect in July of 2002. Changing the definition of “cost
price” and “sales price,” applies only to publishing businesses that pay
unrelated third parties to print their news publication, and distribute those
publications at no cost to readers.
For those businesses that qualify, the terms
“cost price” and “sales price” for both state and local sales/use tax purposes
mean the lesser of the following cost: (1) the printing cost paid to unrelated
third parties to print such news publications, less itemized freight charges
for shipping the news publications from the printer to the publishing business
and itemized charges for paper and ink, or (2) payments to a dealer or
distributor as consideration for distribution of the new publications.
---------------------LATA--------------------
The Department has ruled that electronic images of its records, created
for archival purposes are admissible in courts and administrative proceedings.
This ruling does not address federal information received under the Federal
Exchange Agreement. Imaging, a form of
electronic data storage, can be used to store and preserve records, forms, and
other such documents.LA RS 47:1506.1 authorizes the
use of electronic and other such storage to preserve records, forms, and
documents. Making such copies in this form admissible as
evidence in courts and administrative proceedings.
LATA
Newsletter
Page IV
Act 61 of the 2002 Legislative Session
(HB124), provides an exclusion from tax for the first purchase of “each enumerated
item” as listed in the Act that is bought by eligible taxpayer broadcasters to
convert to a digital broadcast signal from an analog signal. A later purchase
of an enumerated item is subject to tax. There is a distinction between the
Act’s enumerated items that are expressed in the singular and those that are
expressed in the plural.
If an enumerated item, such as a “DTV
antenna,” is expressed in the singular, only one of such an item is excluded
from tax, if it is the eligible taxpayer’s first purchase of this item.
Accordingly, even if a broadcasting station needs a number of DTV antennas for
its conversion to digital, it can only obtain a sales
tax exclusion for the first one that it buys.
If an enumerated item, such as “high definition up-converters,” is expressed in the plural, one or more of such an item are excluded from tax, if they are all bought at the same time, as part of the taxpayer’s first purchase of the item. Accordingly, if a station needs three high definition up-converters for its conversion to digital, it must buy all three at the same time to obtain the sales tax exclusion for all three. If, at the time the station makes its first purchase of a high definition up-converter, it buys only two converters, the station is not entitled to a tax exclusion for a later purchase of a third converter. (OAG, #02-0362, October 02)
MEMBERSHIP INVITATION AND APPLICATION
Name________________________________________ Title ____________________________
Representative
of ______________________________ Dept/Div _________________________
Phone
________________________ Fax ___________________E-Mail ___________________
Annual Dues: $100.00
Payable to:
VISIT US ON THE WEB…www.laota.com