Governor John Bel Edwards recently signed seven new tax laws in Louisiana on June 26, 2017. Analysts have discovered that five of the new laws are going to cost money, but two of them are expected to save money in Louisiana.
Below, is a better look into the new laws to help understand how they may affect you:
1. Rural Health Care Providers
A preexisting law that helped offer a tax break to dentists and primary care physicians who are located in rural areas has now been extended to help nurse practitioners. Plus, the new law changes up certain requirements for dentists and doctors to practice only in areas that the federal government deems necessary for care.
Currently, this tax credit costs Louisiana $511,000, but it is currently unknown how much it will further affect the state. This new state law was voted by the House 82 to zero and the Senate 33 to zero.
2. Rental Equipment
This new law was sponsored by Representative Julie Stokes and passed both in the House 98 to zero, and the Senate 30 to two. The new law extends Louisiana’s inventory tax credit to larger equipment that needs to be rented to companies for mining, forestry, construction, etc. Although analysts do not currently know how much money this new law will be costing the state, it is predicted to range in the millions.
3. Disaster companies
Starting on January 1, businesses and individuals out-of-state will no longer be responsible for paying income taxes in Louisiana on income from disaster responses. Although this will cause the state to receive less money annually, it is still unclear to analysts how much that number will be. The law was voted in the Senate 33 to one and the House 93 to zero.
4. Angel Investors
The Angel Investors Tax credit helps benefit those who plan on or who currently invest in up-and-coming companies based in Louisiana. In turn, this was planned to help create an interest in taking risks on new business owners.
However, now that the law has been rewritten, investors won’t be able to claim as much of a tax credit or claim it for a number of years. But, not to worry, the credit will still be available until 2021. Analysts predict that this new Louisiana law will help create an extra $14.4 for the state. The law was approved in both the House and Senate and was sponsored by Representative Neil Abramson.
5. Regulated Utilities, Telecommunications Firms
This new law helps integrate corporate income tax deductions to companies regulated by the Louisiana Public Service Commission, including both telecommunication and utility companies. However, analysts predict that this new law will only affect one to two companies, and are currently unsure how much money it will cost the state.
Legislative analysts say the new law applies to one or two companies at most. The law was passed in the House 99 to zero and the Senate 32 to zero.
6. Research and Development
Act 336 was passed in the House 96 to zero and in the Senate 31 to zero. This act extended Louisiana’s state research and development tax credit by two years. It was originally stated to end in 2019 but now extends until 2021. The act also, however, limits the amount of the credit. It also adds a few other changes to the tax credit. Between this July 1 and mid-2022, these tax changes are expected to save the state $2.1 million. This act was sponsored by Baton Rouge Republican Paula Davis.
7. Purchases of Rare Coins
Currently, certain types of rare coins come with a partial sales tax. This tax was slated to be removed on July 1, 2018. After the vote, the tax will now disappear on October 1, 2017, nine months earlier than previously stated. This law, known as Act 340, was passed 102 to 3 in the House and 30 to 6 in the Senate.
The coins that the tax targets are those that are those valued less than $1,000. However, any coin that is bought at a multi-parish, statewide, or national coin show in Louisiana and is worth more than $1,000 will also be exempt from any state sales tax. Any coin that does not fall into either of these categories will have state sales tax applied to them. Originally, these coins were also supposed to be exempt beginning on July 1, 2018. However, this is no longer the case.
Experts do not know just how many rare coins are sold in Louisiana that fall into these tax exempt categories. These analysts were not capable of determining whether this measure would cause the state to lose or gain money this year.
