Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards (D) has now issued his anticipated call for a second special legislative session in 2018 (from May 22nd to June 4th). This 14-day special session is meant to address a stated $648 million budget shortfall, commonly known as the “fiscal cliff.” This will be the sixth special session called since January of … Continue Reading
JW SALT Team member, John Fletcher, published an article in the Mississippi Business Journal on how the US Supreme Court hearing of South Dakota vs. Wayfair will affect internet industries and small businesses in Mississippi. The Court wrestled over whether it should abandon or uphold its longstanding physical presence requirement and, if oral arguments were any indication, … Continue Reading
Now that the fascinating oral argument has concluded at the United States Supreme Court in the case of South Dakota v. Wayfair, copies of both the transcript and audio recording of the oral argument are available to the public for download and/or streaming on the Court’s website. Stay tuned to Cooking with SALT for more on … Continue Reading
Hogs For The Cause is an annual New Orleans BBQ festival with food, music, and fundraising. First and foremost, this festival has a very important charitable purpose: helping families fighting pediatric brain cancer. This year, all of the competing teams raised a combined $1.45 million for the cause. JW SALT Team member, Jay Adams, has been … Continue Reading
The Louisiana Department of Revenue (DOR) has joined forces with other Louisiana agencies to crackdown on employee misclassification and failure to withhold payroll taxes. The GAME ON (Government Against Misclassified Employees Operational Network) Task Force is an interagency network made up of members of the Louisiana Workforce Commission’s (LWC) Unemployment Insurance and Office of Workers’ … Continue Reading
A call to action from our friends at COST: COST and the Mobile Workforce Coalition urge you and your company leadership to send letters during the week of March 5 asking the House and Senate leadership to enact the Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act as soon as possible. The Coalition is working to add … Continue Reading
It’s now official. Louisiana Governor Jon Bel Edwards (D) has finally released his Call for a special legislative session to begin February 19th and conclude March 7th. The Call, released today, February 9, 2018, is intended to allow the Louisiana legislature to address the long-term issue of its current taxing and spending structure, as well as the … Continue Reading
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards (D) recently met with leaders from the Louisiana Legislature to discuss his draft 2018 Tax & Budget Priorities, including recommendations for how the State should address the long-term issue of its current taxing and spending structure, as well as the short-term issue of the $1 billion “fiscal cliff” looming in … Continue Reading
On December 15, the House and Senate conference committee released a conference report that reconciled the differences in each chamber’s tax reform bills. Both the House and Senate are expected to vote on the reconciled bill this week. Both have indicated that they have the necessary votes to pass the bill and the President has … Continue Reading
“Substantial economic presence” nexus standard formally embodied in regulation. As expected after recently having filed an economic impact statement, the Mississippi Department of Revenue on November 1 filed its final remote seller use tax regulation with the Secretary of State. The new regulation will be effective December 1, 2017, and contains numerous changes from the … Continue Reading
On October 21, 2017, Louisiana voters resoundingly voted in favor of a Constitutional Amendment to the Louisiana Constitution (Act 428 of the 2017 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature). The Amendment clarifies a long standing practice that construction materials delivered to a construction site are exempt from ad valorem tax during the pendency of the … Continue Reading
The Louisiana Department of Revenue has now issued formal guidance regarding the new requirement that taxpayers receive a Louisiana state tax clearance in order to obtain: (i) a new or renew an existing Louisiana state sales tax resale certificates; and (ii) approval of certain Louisiana state procurement contracts. Specifically, the Department has issued the following new Revenue … Continue Reading
Files Questionable Economic Impact Statement with Secretary of State On Tuesday, the Mississippi Department of Revenue filed an economic impact statement with the Secretary of State addressing its proposed regulation adopting use tax economic nexus standards and remote seller collection obligations. Readers may recall the Department issued the proposed regulation in January and held a … Continue Reading
In response to the impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, parts of the United States have been declared as major disaster areas by the federal government. As a result, numerous states have enacted delayed filing and payment periods for individuals and businesses located in these major disaster areas. Louisiana has joined this growing list with … Continue Reading
UPDATE: On October 17, 2017, the Department filed a notice formally withdrawing this proposed amendment to the contractor’s tax regulation. No explanation was given for the withdrawal, and we will monitor future filings in the event a new amendment proposal is made. The Mississippi Department of Revenue’s recent flurry of regulatory activity continues unabated with … Continue Reading
The Louisiana Legislature’s 2017 Regular Session has now concluded, and as previously reported, numerous tax measures were proposed. Ultimately, however, much of the proposed legislation addressing long-term tax reform was largely rejected by the Legislature during the Regular Session, leaving questions currently unanswered as to how the state will ultimately address the long-term issue of … Continue Reading
Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant announced Tuesday afternoon on Facebook that he would call a special session of the Mississippi Legislature to begin June 5. The 2017 regular session ended earlier this year without having approved 2018 fiscal year budgets for the Department of Transportation or the Attorney General’s office, and the special session is intended … Continue Reading
The hotly contested new Commercial Activity Tax (“CAT”) proposal in Louisiana – H.B. 628 – may now have officially run out of lives. After hours of debate over two days of hearings in the Louisiana House Ways & Means Committee, Governor Edwards’ (D) proposed CAT was voluntarily deferred by the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Sam Jones. … Continue Reading
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards’ (D) administration has now filed its bill proposing to create a new Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) in Louisiana. A full copy of the filed original bill, HB 628 (authored by Representative Sam Jones), can be found here. According to the Governor’s previously released 2017 Budget Stabilization Plan, the proposed new … Continue Reading
Standing on the edge of a $1.3 billion fiscal cliff, Governor John Bel Edwards (D‑La.) announced his 2017 Budget Stabilization Plan, which he intends to pursue during the 2017 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature beginning on April 10, 2017. The Plan notes that Louisiana is operating under a broken, outdated system, “that just simply does … Continue Reading
Louisiana is at it again! Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards and the Louisiana Department of Revenue are now seriously discussing and considering the recommendation of legislation to create a new gross receipts tax in Louisiana. The Governor’s administration will likely be presenting this gross receipts tax option to the Louisiana Legislature as part of the … Continue Reading
Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves on Monday released a statement that H.B. 480 would not be acted on in the Senate, effectively killing the bill by not advancing it out of the Finance Committee by a February 28 legislative deadline. As previously reported, H.B. 480 would have required remote sellers with over $250,000 of sales … Continue Reading
Remote use tax collection legislation advances. A Mississippi bill to require use tax collection by remote sellers passed the House of Representatives and was transmitted to the Senate on February 7. The bill, H.B. 480, would require out-of-state sellers lacking a physical presence in Mississippi to register and begin collecting use tax if their prior-year … Continue Reading
Today, January 27, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards announced that he intends to issue a call to bring the Louisiana Legislature into a 10-day special session beginning February 13 and ending February 23. The special session will address a FY 2017 budget deficit estimated to be in excess of $300 million. The Governor has explained … Continue Reading
