Don’t Miss This Webinar! Get the Scoop on Louisiana’s Efforts at Tax Reform

By Jones Walker LLP on Posted in Jones Walker Announcements, Legislation, Presentations

With a heavily business-friendly state legislature, before the pandemic, significant pro-business tax reform was on the legislative agenda. Please join members of the Jones Walker SALT team and special guest Senator R.L. “Bret” Allain, II, Louisiana State Senate, as we discuss what did pass, what did not, and what the future may hold for further legislative efforts at pro-business tax reform.

When: Tuesday, July 14, 2020 | 12:00 – 1:15 p.m. CDT

Presenters:

  • Jay Adams, Partner, Jones Walker LLP
  • Bill Backstrom, Partner, Jones Walker LLP
  • Andre Burvant, Partner, Jones Walker LLP
  • The Honorable R. L. “Bret” Allain, II, Louisiana State Senate (District 21)

Webinar registration is complimentary.

Questions or to Register: Courtney Farley | cfarley@joneswalker.com

This program is intended for intermediate to advanced practitioners in state and local tax administration and those doing business in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and along the Gulf Coast. This course or a portion thereof has been approved by the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Louisiana State Bar Association for a maximum of 1.1 hours credit.

JW SALT Team Presents Webinar: Legislative Update 2020 – Get the Scoop on Louisiana’s Efforts at Tax Reform

By Jones Walker LLP on Posted in Jones Walker Announcements, Presentations, Tax News

With a heavily business-friendly state legislature, before the pandemic, significant pro-business tax reform was on the legislative agenda. Please join members of the Jones Walker SALT team and special guest Senator R.L. “Bret” Allain, II, Louisiana State Senate, as we discuss what did pass, what did not, and what the future may hold for further legislative efforts at pro-business tax reform.

When: Tuesday, July 14, 2020 | 12:00 – 1:15 p.m. CDT

Presenters:

  • Jay Adams, Partner, Jones Walker LLP
  • Bill Backstrom, Partner, Jones Walker LLP
  • Andre Burvant, Partner, Jones Walker LLP
  • The Honorable R. L. “Bret” Allain, II, Louisiana State Senate (District 21)

Webinar registration is complimentary.

Questions or to Register: Courtney Farley | cfarley@joneswalker.com

This program is intended for intermediate to advanced practitioners in state and local tax administration and those doing business in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and along the Gulf Coast. This course or a portion thereof has been approved by the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Louisiana State Bar Association for a maximum of 1.1 hours credit.

Attention Remote Sellers and Marketplace Facilitators: Louisiana Requirements Begin Wednesday, July 1, 2020

By Andre Burvant, Matt Mantle and Cami Fergus on Posted in Uncategorized

Beginning July 1, 2020, the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers (Commission) will be required to enforce collections of Louisiana state and local sales/use taxes by qualifying “remote sellers” and “marketplace facilitators.”

As a follow-up to our recent Jones Walker SALT webinar on this topic, the following is a list of action items and relevant dates/deadlines for various remote sellers and marketplace facilitators after the Commission’s July 1 enforcement implementation date:

  • On or before July 1, 2020, remote sellers and marketplace facilitators must review their Louisiana-sourced sales transactions and determine whether the relevant economic nexus thresholds have been met (either $100,000 in total gross sales into the state or 200 separate sales transactions into the state in the prior calendar year or within the current calendar year).
  • Those remote sellers and marketplace facilitators who are not already registered with the Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR) as a “Direct Marketer” and who have economic nexus as of July 1 must register with the Commission by July 31, 2020, and must begin collecting state and local sales/use taxes (at applicable local rates) by September 1, 2020. We expect the Commission to provide a list of the applicable local rates on its website for use by remote sellers and marketplace facilitators in the near future.
  • Remote sellers and marketplace facilitators who are already registered with the LDR as Direct Marketers and who meet the economic nexus thresholds will be automatically registered with the Commission (moving away from Direct Marketer return) and will also have until September 1, 2020, to begin collecting state and local sales/use taxes (at applicable local rates).
  • Remote sellers and marketplace facilitators (including those already registered as Direct Marketers) who did not reach the economic nexus thresholds last year and have not yet reached the thresholds in the current year as of July 1, 2020, will be required to register with the Commission within 30 days of the date in which they actually surpass one of the economic thresholds, and will have 60 days from surpassing that economic nexus threshold to begin collecting state and local sales/use taxes (at applicable local rates).
  • Additionally, any remote seller who has not reached either of the economic nexus thresholds and is not otherwise required to collect and remit sales/use taxes as a “dealer” in Louisiana will still have to comply with the state’s separate notice and information reporting requirements set forth in La. R.S. 47:309.1 if the remote seller has more than $50,000 in sales per calendar year.

For more information on the upcoming requirements, please see the Commission’s recently published FAQs.

There is Still Time to Register for our Webinar! Louisiana’s New Rulebook for Remote Sellers and Marketplace Facilitators

By Jones Walker LLP on Posted in Jones Walker Announcements, Presentations

Although there is a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the beginning of the 2020 football season, there is no doubt that the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers officially kicks off its sales tax collection requirements for remote sales and marketplace sales on July 1, 2020.

Please join members of the Jones Walker SALT team and special guest Luke Morris, Assistant Secretary-Office of Legal Affairs, Louisiana Department of Revenue, as we discuss all the X’s and O’s for remote sellers and marketplace facilitators. Central filing for remote sellers has been on the drawing board in Louisiana for years. Don’t miss this opportunity to get the complete play-by-play on the rules for eligibility, registration, collection and filing.

When: Wednesday, June 17, 2020 | 12:00 – 1:15 p.m. CDT

Presenters: 

  • Bill Backstrom, Partner, Jones Walker LLP
  • Andre Burvant, Partner, Jones Walker LLP
  • Matt Mantle, Partner, Jones Walker LLP
  • Luke Morris, Assistant Secretary-Office of Legal Affairs, Louisiana Department of Revenue

Questions or to Register: Contact – Courtney Farley | cfarley@joneswalker.com

The Game Changes on July 1, 2020: Get Ready Now for Louisiana’s New Rulebook for Remote Sellers and Marketplace Facilitators

By Jones Walker LLP on Posted in Uncategorized

Although there is a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the beginning of the 2020 football season, there is no doubt that the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers officially kicks off its sales tax collection requirements for remote sales and marketplace sales on July 1, 2020.

Please join members of the Jones Walker SALT team and special guest Luke Morris, Assistant Secretary-Office of Legal Affairs, Louisiana Department of Revenue, as we discuss all the X’s and O’s for remote sellers and marketplace facilitators. Central filing for remote sellers has been on the drawing board in Louisiana for years. Don’t miss this opportunity to get the complete play-by-play on the rules for eligibility, registration, collection and filing.

When: Wednesday, June 17, 2020 | 12:00 – 1:15 p.m. CDT

Presenters: 

  • Bill Backstrom, Partner, Jones Walker LLP
  • Andre Burvant, Partner, Jones Walker LLP
  • Matt Mantle, Partner, Jones Walker LLP
  • Luke Morris, Assistant Secretary-Office of Legal Affairs, Louisiana Department of Revenue

Questions or to Register: Contact – Courtney Farley | cfarley@joneswalker.com

Louisiana Legislature Ratifies and Extends Governor’s Extension of Legal Deadlines

By Andre Burvant and Cami Fergus on Posted in Administrative Pronouncements, Judicial Decisions, Legislation

House Bill 805 of the 2020 Regular Session, currently awaiting signature by Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, provides a hard deadline for all legal deadlines and prescription periods extended by proclamation throughout the COVID-19 public health emergency.

On March 13, 2020, Governor Edwards declared a public health emergency in Louisiana, followed by a series of proclamations. In Proclamation Number JBE 2020-30 issued on March 16, 2020, the governor extended all legal deadlines, including liberative prescription and peremptive periods applicable to legal proceedings in all courts, administrative agencies, and boards, through April 13, 2020. These extensions applied to many parts of the Louisiana Civil Code, Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure and Revised Statutes, including Title 47 of the Revised Statutes, Revenue and Taxation. Through additional proclamations, Governor Edwards extended all legal deadlines and prescriptive periods to June 15, 2020.

H.B. 805 broadly approves and ratifies the statewide COVID-19 public health emergency as declared by the governor. This ratification includes the suspension or extension of all prescriptions, including liberative, acquisitive, and the prescription of nonuse, abandonment periods, and all peremptive periods, as well as all deadlines in a legal proceeding. The bill not only ratifies the governor’s proclamations but also extends the suspension period from March 17, 2020, through July 5, 2020.

The suspension period provided for in H.B. 805 applies only if the period or action would have expired between March 17, 2020, and July 5, 2020, and then a hard deadline of July 6, 2020, applies to all periods or actions that expired within the suspension period. The right to file a pleading or motion or to enforce a right, claim or action that would have expired between March 17, 2020, and July 5, 2020, now expires on July 6, 2020.

Even if a deadline in a legal proceeding was not suspended by the governor’s proclamations, if a deadline in a legal proceeding lapsed between March 17, 2020, and July 5, 2020, H.B. 805 gives a party the right to seek an extension or suspension of that deadline by contradictory motion or declaratory judgment. The party seeking the extension bears the burden of proof to show that either the party or their attorney missed the deadline because they were adversely affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency. If granted, the legal deadline can only be extended to a hard deadline of September 1, 2020.

For tax purposes, the suspension period would include deadlines to appeal assessments and to appeal refund claim denials. H.B. 805 also emphasizes that these provisions apply to all administrative hearings and proceedings, which would include those proceedings at the Louisiana Board of Tax Appeals.

Significantly, the Louisiana Department of Revenue does not interpret the governor’s proclamations to provide an extension of time for the filing of any tax returns. In Revenue Information Bulletin (RIB) No. 20-008, which was released on March 19, 2020, the department provided a short extension of time for filing the February 2020 sales and excise tax returns to May 20, 2020, and further explained that the suspension of prescription of all tax assessments and legal deadlines are separately governed by the governor’s proclamations. The department maintains that the proclamations do not apply to return filing deadlines. State filing and payment deadlines and any extensions thereof due to COVID-19 can be found here, and local return information can be found here.

Reminder! JW SALT Team Presents “Now is the Time! 5 Steps to Restart Your Tax Department” Webinar

By cfarley on Posted in Jones Walker Announcements, Tax News

There is still time to register!

As we slowly begin the long process of returning to our offices, it will be very important to have a clearly defined and organized approach to identify upcoming deadlines and document important changes to our core businesses. Please join the Jones Walker SALT team as we discuss these practical issues, including specific steps to take, business changes to document, tax reduction opportunities to pursue, and some unique approaches to resolve existing state tax issues and controversies.

When: Wednesday, June 3, 2020 | 12:00 – 1:15 p.m. CDT

Presenters: Jones Walker Partners, Jay Adams, Bill Backstrom, Andre Burvant, John Fletcher, and Matt Mantle

Registration Details: Registration is complimentary.

Questions or to Register: Please contact Courtney Farley | cfarley@joneswalker.com

This program is intended for intermediate to advanced practitioners in state and local tax administration and those doing business in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and along the Gulf Coast.

Louisiana Department of Revenue Grants Sales Tax Relief Related to COVID-19

By Bill Backstrom on Posted in Administrative Pronouncements

Today, the Louisiana Department of Revenue published Revenue Information Bulletin No. 20-012 (May 22, 2020), which provides automatic relief from late filing and late payment penalties (La. R.S. 47:1602) and negligence penalty (La. R.S. 47:1604.1) with respect to state sales tax returns for March 2020 and April 2020, which were due on April 20, 2020 and May 20, 2020, respectively. To qualify for the automatic penalty relief:

• The taxpayer must file the March 2020 and April 2020 state sales tax returns and remit the applicable taxes and related deficiency interest by June 30, 2020.

• If the taxpayer cannot remit the state sales taxes and any related deficiency interest by June 30, 2020, the Department will grant penalty relief if the taxpayer submits and enters into an Installment Request for Business Taxes by June 30, 2020.

• For the March 2020 sales tax period, a taxpayer that received a self-assessment bill from the Department is not required to pay any penalties shown on the bill if the tax and related interest is remitted by June 30, 2020 or the taxpayer submits and enters into an Installment Request for Business Taxes by June 30, 2020).

The Bulletin also notes that if a taxpayer receives “any collection type notice resulting from an unfiled February 2020 [state] sales tax return, the taxpayer may disregard this notice from the Department.”

JW SALT Team Presents “Now is the Time! 5 Steps to Restart Your Tax Department” Webinar

By Jones Walker LLP on Posted in Jones Walker Announcements

As we slowly begin the long process of returning to our offices, it will be very important to have a clearly defined and organized approach to identify upcoming deadlines and document important changes to our core businesses. Please join the Jones Walker SALT team as we discuss these practical issues, including specific steps to take, business changes to document, tax reduction opportunities to pursue, and some unique approaches to resolve existing state tax issues and controversies.

When: Wednesday, June 3, 2020 | 12:00 – 1:15 p.m. CDT

Presenters: Jones Walker Partners, Jay Adams, Bill Backstrom, Andre Burvant, John Fletcher, and Matt Mantle

Registration Details: Registration is complimentary.

Questions or to Register: Please contact Courtney Farley | cfarley@joneswalker.com

This program is intended for intermediate to advanced practitioners in state and local tax administration and those doing business in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and along the Gulf Coast.

 

Louisiana Tax Commission Issues Additional Guidance on Property Tax Filing Deadlines

By Matt Mantle on Posted in Administrative Pronouncements, Tax News, Tax Procedure

Today, in compliance with Proclamation No. JBE 2020-59, which was issued by Governor Edwards on May 14, 2020, the Louisiana Tax Commission (LTC) issued Statewide Advisory 05-2020 explaining that JBE 2020-59 continues the suspension of the statutory April 1, 2020 deadline for filing personal property renditions with local assessors (for property owners other than public service companies) and annual reports of public service companies with the LTC to at least June 5, 2020.

Public service companies that file annual reports for public service properties with the LTC should be able to rely on the extension provided in the Advisory.

As noted in our prior post, for all other owners of personal property that are required to file renditions with the local assessor, we previously provided the following best practices:

  • File your rendition with the local assessor on or before April 1, 2020; or
  • Request in writing (an e-mail should suffice) an extension of time from the local assessor and obtain a written (an e-mail should suffice) confirmation of any such extension granted by the local assessor (La. R.S. 47:2324 provides that upon written request, the local assessor may grant an extension of time to file a personal property rendition of up to 30 days).

In order to avoid penalties, including but not limited to the potential loss of rights to contest the assessor’s determination of fair market value of the subject property, property owners must file the required renditions/reports on a timely basis.  Property owners must be vigilant every year, but especially this year, to timely file all renditions (local assessors) or annual reports (LTC).

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