SLS 15RS-685 ORIGINAL
2015 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 276
BY SENATOR MARTINY
TAX/SALES. Phases out state sales tax over a six-year period on transactions related to
certain tangible personal property used or consumed by a communications service provider
in providing communications services or which is integral or necessary for the installation,
operation, or maintenance of such property. (7/1/15)
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 47:301(3)(l), (13)(n), and (30), relative to sales and use tax of the state and
3 statewide political subdivisions; to provide for an exclusion reducing the taxable
4 price and taxable lease or rental price or gross receipts of certain defined equipment;
5 to provide for effective dates; and to provide for related matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 47:301(3)(l), (13)(n), and (30) are hereby enacted to read as follows:
8 ยง301. Definitions
9 As used in this Chapter the following words, terms, and phrases have the
10 meaning ascribed to them in this Section, unless the context clearly indicates a
11 different meaning:
12 * * *
13 (3) * * *
14 (l)(i) For purposes of the imposition of the use tax levied by the state and
15 any statewide political subdivision of the state, the cost price of tangible
16 personal property directly used or consumed by a communications provider
17 who has received a certificate of exclusion as provided for in this Subparagraph,
Page 1 of 8
Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 276
SLS 15RS-685 ORIGINAL
1 in or during the distribution, provision, transmission, conveyance, monitoring,
2 switching, routing, creation, or production of a communications service, or that
3 is integral or necessary for the installation, operation, or maintenance of such
4 tangible personal property, shall be reduced as follows:
5 (aa) For the period July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016, the cost price
6 shall be reduced by fourteen percent.
7 (bb) For the period July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017, the cost price
8 shall be reduced by twenty-eight percent.
9 (cc) For the period July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018, the cost price
10 shall be reduced by forty-two percent.
11 (dd) For the period July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019, the cost price
12 shall be reduced by fifty-six percent.
13 (ee) For the period July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020, the cost price
14 shall be reduced by seventy percent.
15 (ff) For the period July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021, the cost price
16 shall be reduced by eighty-four percent.
17 (gg) For all periods beginning on or after July 1, 2021, the cost price shall
18 be reduced by one hundred percent.
19 (ii) For purposes of this Subparagraph, the following definitions shall
20 apply:
21 (aa) "Communications provider" shall mean a person who is principally
22 engaged in the business of distributing, provisioning, transmitting, conveying,
23 monitoring, switching, receiving, or routing of a communications service.
24 (bb) "Communications service" shall mean cable television service,
25 Internet access service, telecommunications service, or any combination thereof.
26 (cc) "Telecommunications service" shall mean the electronic
27 transmission, conveyance, or routing of voice, data, audio, video, or any other
28 information or signals to a point, or between or among points. The term
29 "telecommunications service" includes such transmission, conveyance, or
Page 2 of 8
Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 276
SLS 15RS-685 ORIGINAL
1 routing in which computer processing applications are used to act on the form,
2 code or protocol of the content for purposes of transmission, conveyance, or
3 routing without regard to the classification of such service by the Federal
4 Communications Commission.
5 (dd) "Cable television service" shall mean the distribution of video
6 programming, with or without the use of wires, to subscribing or paying
7 customers. The term includes direct broadcast satellite service (DBS),
8 subscription television service (STV), satellite master antenna television service
9 (SMATV), master antenna television service (MATV), multipoint distribution
10 service (MDS), over-the-top video service, and multichannel multipoint
11 distribution service (MMDS), and any audio portion of a video program.
12 (ee) "Internet access service" shall mean both of the following:
13 (I) A service that enables users to connect to the Internet to access or
14 obtain content, information, or other services offered over the Internet.
15 (II) The purchase, use, or sale of telecommunications by a provider of a
16 service described in Subsubitem (I) to the extent such telecommunications are
17 purchased, used, or sold to enable users to connect to the Internet to access or
18 obtain content, information, or other services offered over the Internet.
19 (ff) "Internet" shall mean the myriad of computer and
20 telecommunications facilities, including equipment and operating software,
21 which comprise the interconnected worldwide network of networks that employ
22 the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol or any predecessor or
23 successor protocols to such protocol to communicate information of all kinds by
24 fiber, wire, light or radio.
25 (iii) No person shall be entitled to purchase, use, lease, or rent tangible
26 personal property as defined in this Subparagraph without payment of the tax
27 imposed by the state or a statewide political subdivision of the state before
28 receiving a certificate of exclusion from the secretary of the Department of
29 Revenue certifying that he is a communications provider as defined herein.
Page 3 of 8
Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 276
SLS 15RS-685 ORIGINAL
1 (iv) The secretary of the Department of Revenue may adopt rules and
2 regulations in order to administer the exclusion provided for in this
3 Subparagraph.
4 * * *
5 (13) * * *
6 (n)(i) For purposes of the imposition of the sales tax levied by the state
7 and any statewide political subdivision of the state, the sales price of tangible
8 personal property directly used or consumed by a communications provider
9 who has received a certificate of exclusion as provided for in this Subparagraph,
10 in or during the distribution, provision, transmission, conveyance, monitoring,
11 switching, routing, creation, or production of a communications service, or that
12 is integral or necessary for the installation, operation, or maintenance of such
13 tangible personal property shall be reduced as follows:
14 (aa) For the period July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016, the sales price
15 shall be reduced by fourteen percent.
16 (bb) For the period July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017, the sales price
17 shall be reduced by twenty-eight percent.
18 (cc) For the period July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018, the sales price
19 shall be reduced by forty-two percent.
20 (dd) For the period July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019, the sales price
21 shall be reduced by fifty-six percent.
22 (ee) For the period July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020, the sales price
23 shall be reduced by seventy percent.
24 (ff) For the period July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021, the sales price
25 shall be reduced by eighty-four percent.
26 (gg) For all periods beginning on or after July 1, 2021, the sales price
27 shall be reduced by one hundred percent.
28 (ii) For purposes of this Subparagraph, "communications provider",
29 "communications service", "telecommunications service", "cable television
Page 4 of 8
Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 276
SLS 15RS-685 ORIGINAL
1 service" and "Internet Access" shall have the same meaning as defined in R.S.
2 47:301(3)(l)(ii).
3 (iii) No person shall be entitled to purchase, use, lease, or rent tangible
4 personal property as defined in this Subparagraph without payment of the tax
5 imposed by the state or a statewide political subdivision of the state before
6 receiving a certificate of exclusion from the secretary of the Department of
7 Revenue certifying that it is a communications provider as defined herein.
8 (iv) The secretary of the Department of Revenue may adopt rules and
9 regulations in order to administer the exclusion provided for in this
10 Subparagraph.
11 * * *
12 (30)(a) For purposes of the imposition of the lease or rental tax levied by
13 the state and any statewide political subdivision, the "gross proceeds",
14 "monthly lease or rental price paid", and "monthly lease or rental price
15 contracted or agreed to be paid" for tangible personal property directly used
16 or consumed by a communications provider who has received a certificate of
17 exclusion as provided for in this Subparagraph, in or during the distribution,
18 provision, transmission, conveyance, monitoring, switching, routing, creation,
19 or production of a communications service, or that is integral or necessary for
20 the installation, operation, or maintenance of such tangible personal property
21 shall be reduced as follows:
22 (i) For the period July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016, by fourteen
23 percent.
24 (ii) For the period July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017, by twenty-eight
25 percent.
26 (iii) For the period July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018, by forty-two
27 percent.
28 (iv) For the period July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019, by fifty-six
29 percent.
Page 5 of 8
Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 276
SLS 15RS-685 ORIGINAL
1 (v) For the period July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020, by seventy
2 percent.
3 (vi) For the period July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021, by eighty-four
4 percent.
5 (vii) For all periods beginning on or after July 1, 2021, by one hundred
6 percent.
7 (b) For purposes of this Paragraph, "communications provider",
8 "communications service", "telecommunications service", "cable television
9 service" and "Internet Access" shall have the same meaning as defined in R.S.
10 47:301(3)(l)(ii).
11 (c) No person shall be entitled to purchase, use, lease, or rent tangible
12 personal property as defined in this Subparagraph without payment of the tax
13 imposed by the state or a statewide political subdivision of the state before
14 receiving a certificate of exclusion from the secretary of the Department of
15 Revenue certifying that it is a communications provider as defined herein.
16 (d) The secretary of the Department of Revenue may adopt rules and
17 regulations in order to administer the exclusion provided for in this
18 Subparagraph.
19 * * *
20 Section 2. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2015; if vetoed by the governor
21 and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become effective on July 1,
22 2015, or on the day following such approval by the legislature, whichever is later.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Riley Boudreaux.
DIGEST
SB 276 Original 2015 Regular Session Martiny
Proposed law phases out state sales tax by 14% a year over a six-year period on transactions
concerning the following tangible personal property, if a taxpayer receives a "certificate of
exclusion" from the secretary of the Department of Revenue certifying that it is a
"communications provider" as defined in the proposed law:
(1)Tangible personal property directly used or consumed by a "communications
provider" in or during the distribution, provision, transmission, conveyance,
Page 6 of 8
Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 276
SLS 15RS-685 ORIGINAL
monitoring, switching, routing, creation, or production of a "communications
service".
(2)Tangible personal property that is integral or necessary for the installation, operation,
or maintenance of such tangible personal property.
"Communications provider" is defined as a person who is principally engaged in the business
of distributing, provisioning, transmitting, conveying, monitoring, switching, receiving or
routing of a "communications service", defined as "cable television service", "Internet access
service", "telecommunications service", or any combination thereof.
"Cable television service" is defined as the distribution of video programming, with or
without the use of wires, to subscribing or paying customers. The term includes direct
broadcast satellite service (DBS), subscription television service (STV), satellite master
antenna television service (SMATV), master antenna television service (MATV), multipoint
distribution service (MDS), over-the-top video service, and multichannel multipoint
distribution service (MMDS), and any audio portion of a video program.
"Internet access service" is defined as both of the following:
(1)A service that enables users to connect to the "Internet" to access or obtain content,
information, or other services offered over the "Internet".
(2)The purchase, use, or sale of telecommunications by a provider of a service
described above to the extent such telecommunications are purchased, used, or sold
to enable users to connect to the "Internet" to access or obtain content, information,
or other services offered over the "Internet".
"Internet" is defined as the myriad of computer and telecommunications facilities, including
equipment and operating software, which comprise the interconnected worldwide network
of networks that employ the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol or any
predecessor or successor protocols to such protocol to communicate information of all kinds
by fiber, wire, light, or radio.
"Telecommunications service" is defined as the electronic transmission, conveyance, or
routing of voice, data, audio, video, or any other information or signals to a point, or
between or among points. The term "telecommunications service" includes such
transmission, conveyance, or routing in which computer processing applications are used to
act on the form, code or protocol of the content for purposes of transmission, conveyance
or routing without regard to the classification of such service by the Federal
Communications Commission.
Proposed law phases out state sales tax as follows:
(1)By 14% during FY2015-2016.
(2)By 28% during FY2016-2017.
(3)By 42% during FY2017-2018.
(4)By 56% during FY2018-2019.
(5)By 70% during FY2019-2020.
(6)By 84% during FY2020-2021.
(7)Such property is excluded from all state sales tax starting July 1, 2021.
Page 7 of 8
Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 276
SLS 15RS-685 ORIGINAL
Proposed law authorizes the secretary of the Department of Revenue to adopt rules and
regulations in order to administer the proposed law.
Effective July 1, 2015.
(Adds R.S. 47:301(3)(l), (13)(n), and (30))
Page 8 of 8
Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.