Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. General. Events
sponsored by domestic, civic, educational, historical, charitable, fraternal,
or religious organizations, which are nonprofit are exempt from the sales or
use tax for these events, on the condition that the proceeds from these events,
less applicable expenses, are used for the furtherance of the purpose for which
the organization was formed.
1. This
exemption applies to sales of tangible personal property, admission charges,
outside gate admission charges, and parking fees.
2. The organization must apply for the
exemption for each event and the application must be genuine. The application
is Form R-1048.
3. If the exemption
is approved, the secretary will provide a certificate of exemption for the
specific event.
4. If the secretary
denies the exemption, the organization may appeal to the Louisiana Board of Tax
Appeals.
5. An
event, as referred to in the statute, means an occurrence of
relatively short duration with a scheduled beginning and ending date and/or
time.
6. T he purchase of items to
be sold at these events is not exempt from the advance state or local sales or
use tax,where applicable . In order to receive a credit for the tax paid on
items to be sold at one of these exempt events, the organization would register
with the appropriate taxing authority as an irregular filer and then file a
sales tax return taking a credit for the sales tax paid on the purchases for
resale.
B. Exceptions.
The statute is very specific as to the type of organizations and events that
qualify for the exemptions. There are some exceptions that are referred to in
the law.
1. If the event is intended to yield
a profit to the promoter or to any individual contracted to provide services,
or equipment, or both, for the event, the exemption shall not apply.
2. Nonprofit organizations are not exempt
from sales or use taxes under this exemption, only from the collection of sales
tax at certain events held by these organizations.
3. The statue does not offer an exemption
from the sales and use taxes for regular commercial ventures such as,
bookstores, restaurants, gift shops, commercial flea markets, and similar
ventures that are operated by nonprofit organizations. The exemption applies to
events that are not open on an ongoing basis.
4. Any organization which endorses any
candidate for political office or is involved in political activities will not
be eligible for the exemption.
5.
The secretary may, at his discretion, recognize ongoing activities, e.g.,
concession sales at schools, and allow the organization to file an annual
exemption application for such activities.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
47:305.14,
R.S.
47:337.2,
R.S.
47:337.9, and
R.S.
47:1511.
