Travel and tourism officials got a scare earlier this month when they noticed Gov. Jeff Landry’s tax package messed with a key tax stream for the industry.
While the travel sector’s fears have been mitigated to some extent, industry leaders still have some concerns about that provision as well as other aspects of the tax package, which is still subject to negotiation and legislative debate.
The Louisiana Office of Tourism receives most of its funding from the Louisiana Tourism Promotion District, a special taxing district that covers the entire state. State law authorizes the district to levy and collect a sales and use tax of up to 0.03%.
The state Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism gets an average of about $30 million per year from that fund. Some of that money the tourism office receives is transferred to other CRT agencies for operating expenses, such as the Office of State Museum, the Office of Cultural Development and the State Library of Louisiana, department spokesperson Barry Landry explains.
The taxing district would go away under the administration’s proposal, but CRT would still get the money, Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson says.
“It was just kind of a weird area of the law where they created this taxing district that was contemporaneous with the state boundaries,” he says. “We’ll just dedicate a portion of the tax to that cause. So substantively, it doesn’t change anything.”
Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, who is effectively the state’s tourism czar, was not available for an interview. Assistant Secretary of Tourism Doug Bourgeois says the proposal appears to be a “change of words” that might not make a huge difference.
“We don’t think it’s going to impact us that much, at this point,” Bourgeois says. “We don’t know enough [to say for sure].”
Ryan Haynie, who lobbies for the Louisiana Travel Association, says the draft of the bill contemplates a flat lump-sum payment, “but I think they’ve committed to us to keep the full dedication” in the official version of the bill that will be introduced.
Setting aside the CRT issue, the Travel Association has concerns about the administration’s proposals to sunset the film business incentive program and the program that supports renovations of historic buildings, as well as the potential sales tax on tour operators.
“We’re still reviewing the bill and working with the administration to make sure tourism isn’t hurt,” Haynie says.
—They said it: “Washington Mardi Gras seems to be getting a lot of attention and I don’t know why.” –House and Governmental Affairs Chair Beau Beaullieu on the Board of Ethics’ recent focus on PAC spending, in Louisiana Illuminator.
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
