Louisiana: The Pelican State

Louisiana is located in the southern United States, at the mouth of the Mississippi River in the Gulf of Mexico. The coastline is 550 kilometers. The Sabine River forms a natural border with Texas to the west. The northern neighbor is Arkansas and to the east Mississippi borders the “Pelican State”. Of the 130,000 km² area, 15 percent is covered by bodies of water. According to ehuacom, Baton Rouge is the capital of the state that is home to 4.7 million people.

The Louisiana business climate combines an extensive collection of competitive advantages, from a personalized workforce to low operating costs to exceptional infrastructure. The “Pelican State” thus creates an ideal environment for the success of your company. As a result, Louisiana was ranked in the top ten for best business climate in the United States by Area Development, Development Counselors International, and Site Selection.

Louisiana Location Map

TOP BUSINESS LOCATION

In 2016, KPMG evaluated the general competitiveness of over 100 cities from ten nations based on costs in “Competitive Alternatives”. Louisiana ranked as the US state with the lowest cost to do business. The report uses location-related costs such as taxes, labor costs, building costs, transportation and distribution, and utilities as evaluation factors. Three cities from Louisiana, Shreveport (1st), Baton Rouge (2nd) and New Orleans (4th), are among the top 4 locations in the southeastern United States.

Glen Post, 1992-2018 CEO of CenturyLink, sees Louisiana as a great place to do business and sees the location continuing to grow in appeal.

The Tax Foundation, together with KPMG, published a comparison in 2015 under the name “Location Matters” regarding the combined state and local business tax burden for different types of companies. For many types of companies, Louisiana is one of the top ten best locations in the country in this area.

THE STATE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Louisiana officials excelled in removing roadblocks, cutting red tape, and providing other meaningful support. According to Matthias Jäger, Managing Director from 2012-2016, Louisiana is the right location for Benteler Stahl.

This opinion is not unique. The state of Louisiana values ​​business investment, and when a company chooses to invest in the state, they can rely on the state to provide innovative solutions to meet their needs. The Pelican State is happy to assist, whether it is with site identification, workforce development, or permitting.

Louisiana also develops competitive advantages through lucrative incentives. A wide range of programs can be combined resulting in competitive incentive packages for new and existing businesses.

  • COUNTRYAAH: offers list of all counties in the state of Louisiana. Also includes cities and towns within each county.

THE MOST DEDICATED WORKFORCE IN THE COUNTRY

Louisiana ranks first nationally in employee engagement. The pool of highly qualified workers is subject to constant growth. The state invested in new and modernized college education facilities. The computer science and engineering departments of the universities were also supported with investments of almost 40 million dollars.

The thoughts of Ron Sedley, owner of RonpakAnnouncements, can be taken as an endorsement of the election result. His company would have experienced the excellent workforce first hand and also sensed the pride that people take in their work.

Louisiana also offers the services of LED FastStart®, which has been named the nation’s #1 workforce development program by Business Facilities for nine consecutive years. FastStart creates customized solutions for recruiting, selecting and training workers. This is to ensure companies have a highly skilled, trained workforce from day one – all at no cost to the company.

LOUISIANA INCOME TAX

Louisiana charges an income tax of 2-6% depending on income. In addition, federal income taxes are payable.

CORPORATE INCOME TAX IN LOUISIANA

Louisiana has an 8% corporate income tax. In addition, federal corporation tax is payable.

LOUISIANA SALES TAX

There is no sales tax or Value Added Tax (VAT) in the USA based on the European model. Instead, in the United States, states, counties, and municipalities levy a local sales tax on the sale of products (but not services).

Sales tax rate in Louisiana

The sales tax in Louisiana is 4.45% at the state level. Municipalities or districts charge an average of 5.07% sales tax. Combined, an average of 9.52% is due.

Louisiana Nexus Laws & Sales Tax

Learn more about the Economic Nexus Laws in the context of Sales Tax here.

Effective Date

July 1, 2020

Transactions included:

Gross receipts from the sale of products, electronically transmitted products, or services in the US state

Treatment of tax-exempt transactions:

Exempt Sales and Exempt Services are included in the threshold

Reason:

turnover or transaction volume

Sales/Transactions Threshold:

$100,000 or 200 transactions

Evaluation period:

The threshold applies to the previous or current calendar year

Extra information:

  • Registration Requirements: Louisiana requires a remote business to register to collect and remit sales and use taxes within 30 days of crossing the Economic Nexus Threshold. See Information Bulletin #20-002for more details.
  • Remote Seller Bulletin
  • HB547
  • Louisiana Sales and Use Tax on Remote Sales, Frequently Asked Questions

Louisiana Marketplace Sellers & Sales Tax

Learn more about Marketplace seller registration requirements

Effective date by the marketplace broker:

July 1, 2020

Economic Nexus Threshold:

More than $100,000 in Louisiana sales or at least 200 separate transactions in the current or previous calendar year. When calculating the threshold:

  • Remote sellers should exclude sales made through a marketplace
  • Marketplace intermediaries should include all sales through the marketplace

Registration requirements:

  • Remote Multichannel Sellers: You must register with the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers (Commission) within the Department of Revenue (DOR) and collect your Louisiana sales tax on sales not taxed by a marketplace vendor as soon as You have crossed the economic nexus threshold.
  • Remote Marketplace Sellers: You must register with the Commission once you cross the Economic Nexus threshold. Contact the Commission for more information.
  • In-State Multichannel Sellers: You must register with the DOR and collect tax on sales that are not taxed by a marketplace provider.
  • In-State Marketplace Vendors: You may need to register; Contact the DOR for more information.