While sheriffs serve as the ex-officio ad valorem or property tax collector for most parishes, different types of local government agencies (such as school boards, municipalities, or dedicated sales tax collection agencies) act as the collector and distributor of sales and use taxes in the parish in which they are domiciled.
These sales and use tax collection agencies also collect hotel/motel, occupational, and other types of taxes, and remit them to the taxing authorities in the parish.
Louisiana Revised Statute 47:337.14.1, which was enacted by Act 669 of the 2022 Regular Legislative Session, requires the LLA and the Louisiana Uniform Local Sales Tax Board to develop a uniform reporting schedule for audit reports for all entities that serve as the single sales and use tax collector for all taxing authorities within a parish that are compensated based on the cost of collection. The law states:
- The schedule must include, at a minimum:
- The amounts of all tax, interest, penalties, and fees collected during the preceding year on behalf of the all local taxing authorities by the collector.
- The total amount retained by the collector.
- The salary and benefits of all employees of the collector.
- Total payments made to all parties with whom the collector contracts to assist with collection.
- The amounts disbursed to each local taxing authority.
- Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, collectors shall commence to use the uniform reporting schedule developed by the Legislative Auditor by the end of Calendar Year 2023 for collectors operating on a calendar year schedule, or the end of Fiscal Year 2023-2024 for collectors operating on a fiscal year schedule.
- The reporting schedules shall be submitted to the Legislative Auditor as part of the Legislative Auditor’s annual audit of the collector.
The schedule can be found in the Practice Aids and Related Documents section of the Louisiana Governmental Audit Guide. The schedule is required to be prepared on the cash basis of accounting and should include amounts for the collector’s entire fiscal year.