Taxpayer Watchdog Urges Louisiana to Level Playing Field for Marketplace Facilitators

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kara Zupkus (224) 456-0257 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, the State of Louisiana convened for a special legislative session, focused primarily on tax policy. During the session, the Sales and Use Tax will be a central focus for lawmakers as they look for new ways to supercharge the state’s economy.

During the 2023 legislative session, the Legislature passed H.B. 588 and H.B. 171 to reform the tax system applicable to remote sellers and marketplace facilitators. These two bills allowed marketplace facilitators to collect and remit taxes centrally, through the Remote Sellers Commission. However, the state failed to include accommodations intermediaries in the relief provided to other businesses. The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) has long advocated tax-remittance processes that are clear, concise, and ensure that tax collection is administered fairly in a manner that does not pick winners and losers in the marketplace.

In anticipation of the special session, Dan Savickas, Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs, offered the following comment:

“It is imperative that lawmakers in Louisiana use this special session to provide centralized collection to accommodation intermediaries that are required to collect sales tax on accommodations furnished within the state under H.B. 9. Under this model, Louisiana can be assured that all eligible sales taxes will be collected and remitted to the proper taxing authority and that all marketplace facilitators will have competitive parity. Lawmakers should support policies that put accommodation intermediaries on an even playing field with other marketplace facilitators. TPA would also urge the Legislature to similarly mandate collection and centralize the remittance of local hotel occupancy taxes by accommodations intermediaries with the Remote Seller Commission.”

“Moreover, lawmakers should also consider exempting facilitation charges by accommodations intermediaries to accommodation sellers (as “business use of software,” as defined in H.B. 8). Failing to do so risks creating confusion and subjecting these transactions to double taxation – first as business inputs and again as part of the sale of taxable accommodations. As Americans are still struggling to make ends meet, it is imperative that taxpayers are not subjected to duplicative taxes.

“The point of economic policymaking is to ensure markets are fair and free – the conditions under which innovation and competition thrive. The power of market-based competition can only work when regulatory distortions are not present. Louisiana lawmakers should take care not to disadvantage one type of business for the sake of propping up another. Central planning rarely goes without unintended consequences.”

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Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.