HLS 161ES-226 ORIGINAL
2016 First Extraordinary Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 113
BY REPRESENTATIVE HILFERTY
TAX/SALES & USE: Requires online or catalog retailers that are not domiciled in
Louisiana to provide notice to Louisiana purchasers that Louisiana sales and use
taxes may be due on the purchases (Item #30)
1 AN ACT
2To enact R.S. 47:306(F), relative to state sales and use tax; requires online or catalog
3 retailers that are not domiciled in Louisiana to provide notice to Louisiana
4 purchasers that Louisiana sales and use taxes may be due on the purchases; defines
5 terms; provides for the details of such notice; prohibits the imposition of criminal
6 penalties or civil liabilities; and to provide for related matters.
7Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. R.S. 47:306(F) is hereby enacted to read as follows:
9 ยง306. Returns and payment of tax; penalty for absorption
10 * * *
11 F. Notice requirement for non-collecting retailers.
12 (1) The terms used in this Subsection shall have the following meanings:
13 (a) "De minimis online auction website" means any online auction website
14 that facilitated in the prior calendar year total gross sales in Louisiana of less that one
15 hundred thousand dollars and reasonably expects that Louisiana sales in the current
16 calendar year will be less than one hundred thousand dollars.
17 (b) "De minimis retailer" means any noncollecting retailer that in the prior
18 calendar year made total gross sales in Louisiana of less than one hundred thousand
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1 dollars and reasonably expects that Louisiana sales in the current calendar year will
2 be less than one hundred thousand dollars.
3 (c) "Noncollecting retailer" means any retailer not currently registered to
4 collect and remit Louisiana sales and use taxes who makes sales of tangible personal
5 property, services, or products transferred electronically from a place of business
6 outside of Louisiana to be shipped to Louisiana for use, storage, or consumption and
7 who is not required to collect Louisiana sales and use taxes.
8 (d) "Online auction website" means a collection of web pages on the Internet
9 that allows any person to display tangible personal property, services, or products to
10 be transferred electronically for sale which are purchased through a competitive
11 process where a participant places a bid with the highest bidder purchasing the
12 property, service, or product when the bidding period ends.
13 (e) "Louisiana purchaser" means any purchaser who purchases tangible
14 personal property, services, or products electronically to be shipped or transferred
15 to Louisiana.
16 (2) Pursuant to this Subsection, each noncollecting retailer shall give notice
17 that Louisiana use tax is due on nonexempt purchases of tangible personal property,
18 services, or products transferred electronically and shall be paid by the Louisiana
19 purchaser. The notice shall be readily visible and contain the information as follows:
20 (a) The noncollecting retailer is not required and does not collect Louisiana
21 use tax.
22 (b) The purchase is subject to state use tax unless it is specifically exempt
23 from such taxation.
24 (c) The purchase is not exempt merely because the purchase is made over the
25 Internet, by catalog, or by other remote means.
26 (d) The state requires each Louisiana purchaser to report any purchase that
27 was not taxed at the time of purchase and pay the tax due on such purchase. The tax
28 may be reported and paid on the Louisiana use tax form.
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1 (e) The use tax form and corresponding instructions are available on the
2 Louisiana Department of Revenue and Taxation website.
3 (3)(a) The notice required by Paragraph (2) of this Subsection shall occur on
4 a page necessary to facilitate the applicable transaction. The notice shall be
5 sufficient if the noncollecting retailer provides a prominent linking notice that reads
6 "See important Louisiana sales and use tax information regarding the tax you may
7 owe directly to the state of Louisiana". The prominent linking notice shall direct the
8 purchaser to the principal notice information required by Paragraph (2) of this
9 Subsection.
10 (b) The notice required by Paragraph (2) of this Subsection for a catalog
11 transaction shall be a part of the order form. The notice shall be sufficient if the
12 noncollecting retailer provides a prominent reference to a supplemental page that
13 reads "See important Louisiana sales and use tax information regarding the tax you
14 may owe directly to the state of Louisiana on page _________". The notice on the
15 order form shall direct the purchaser to the page that includes the principal notice
16 required by Paragraph (2) of this Subsection.
17 (4)(a) For any Internet purchase made pursuant to this Subsection, the
18 invoice notice shall occur on the electronic order confirmation. The notice shall be
19 sufficient if the noncollecting retailer provides a prominent linking notice that reads
20 "See important Louisiana sales and use tax information regarding the tax you may
21 owe directly to the state of Louisiana". The invoice notice link shall direct the
22 purchaser to the principal notice required by Paragraph (2) of this Subsection. If the
23 noncollecting retailer does not issue an electronic order confirmation, the complete
24 notice shall be placed on the purchase order, fill receipt, sales slip, order form, or
25 packing statement.
26 (b) For any catalog or phone purchase made pursuant to this Subsection, the
27 complete notice shall be placed on the purchase order, bill, receipt, sales slip, order
28 form, or packing statement.
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1 (5)(a) For any Internet purchase made pursuant to this Subsection, notice on
2 the check-out page fulfills both the website and the invoice requirements
3 simultaneously. The notice shall be sufficient if the noncollecting retailer provides
4 a prominent linking notice that reads "See important Louisiana sales and use tax
5 information regarding the tax you may owe directly to the state of Louisiana". The
6 check-out page notice link shall direct the purchaser to the principal notice required
7 by Paragraph (2) of this Subsection.
8 (b) If a retailer is required to provide a similar notice for another state in
9 addition to Louisiana, the retailer may provide a consolidated notice so long as the
10 notice includes the information required by Paragraph (2) of this Subsection,
11 specifically references Louisiana, and meets the placement requirements of this
12 Subsection.
13 (6) A noncollecting retailer may not state nor display nor imply that no tax
14 is due on any Louisiana purchase unless the display is accompanied by the notice
15 required by Paragraph (2) of this Subsection each time the display appears. If a
16 summary of the transaction includes a line designated "sales tax" and shows the
17 amount of sales tax as zero, this constitutes a display implying that no tax is due on
18 the purchase. This display shall be accompanied by the notice required by Paragraph
19 (2) of this Subsection.
20 (7) Notwithstanding the limitation contained in this Subsection, if a
21 noncollecting retailer knows that a purchase is exempt from Louisiana tax pursuant
22 to Louisiana law, the noncollecting retailer may display or indicate that no sales or
23 use tax is due even if the display is not accompanied by the notice required by
24 Paragraph (2) of this Subsection.
25 (8)(a) With the exception of notification on an invoice, the provision of this
26 Subsection shall apply to online auction websites.
27 (b) De minimis retailers and de minimis online auction websites are exempt
28 from the notice requirements of this Subsection.
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1 (c) No criminal penalty nor civil liability may be applied or assessed for
2 failure to comply with the provisions of this Subsection.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 113 Original 2016 First Extraordinary Session Hilferty
Abstract: Requires the registration of dealers who maintain a market for retail sales in
Louisiana.
Proposed law requires online and catalog retailers outside the state of La. to give notice to
customers that they may owe sales and use taxes to the state of La. for any purchases made
through their website, online auction site, or catalogs. Specifies the location of notices and
the content of the warning notice including on the website with a link to more information,
on the website checkout page, on the catalog order form, and on the purchase order, bill
receipt, or packing statement. Prohibits a retailer that does not collect the sales tax from
claiming that the purchases are tax free. Further prohibits criminal penalties or civil
liabilities for failure to comply with these requirements.
(Adds R.S. 47:306(F))
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