Amendment To Centralize Local Sales Tax Collection Would Not Eliminate Local Jobs, Speakers Say

by | Sep 30, 2021 | Legislative Advocacy

A constitutional amendment that would centralize sales tax collection in Louisiana will not have a significant effect on the local jobs that help in sales tax collection, officials said.

Referring to that and other amendments on the Nov. 13 ballot as “Louisiana’s path forward,” state Rep. Gerald “Beau” Beaullieu, R-New Iberia, along with Stephen Waguespack, president and CEO of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry noted how the measure — Amendment No. 1 on the upcoming ballot — is critical for Louisiana to be competitive with other states and needed in the current economy.

The measure, which Waguespack noted has not had any organized opposition, would significantly alter the way local sales taxes are collected in Louisiana by centralizing it instead of it being handled by the 55 local collectors from around the state.

Speaking at One Acadiana’s Ballots over Breakfast event Wednesday, Waguespack noted how the measure, if it gets voter approval, would create an eight-member commission that would still rely on those local collectors in the new system. The state would collect taxes on sales then distribute the appropriate amount to the appropriate taxing entity.

But if the measure fails, it would ultimately result in private sector jobs lost.

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