In a letter recently issued to Lafourche Parish, LA sales/use taxpayers, the Lafourche Parish local sales/use tax collector Amanda Granier explains that Lafourche Parish has now granted Lafourche Parish local sales/use tax filing extensions to certain dealers/taxpayers impacted by Hurricane Ida.

The Lafourche Parish sales/use tax office was “closed for the foreseeable future” due to

In response to the pandemic, the Jones Walker SALT team published an article regarding La. R.S. 47:1978.1 and its mandate that property damaged, destroyed, or rendered nonoperational due to an emergency declared by the governor was subject to reassessment, including the consideration of additional obsolescence, as a result of that physical and financial damage.

In response to Hurricane Ida, Governor John Bel Edwards issued a statewide state of emergency order on August 26, 2021. As such, any property, including buildings, structures, or personal property that was damaged, destroyed, or rendered nonoperational by Ida “shall” be subject to reassessment by the assessor. In fact, the Louisiana Tax Commission (Commission) recently issued Statewide Advisory No. 03-2021 encouraging any taxpayer whose property was destroyed, damaged, or rendered nonoperational due to Ida to document all damages and submit appropriate documentation, including photographs, to their assessor.Continue Reading Property Damage Suffered as a Result of Hurricane Ida Must be Considered by Assessors into Determining the Fair Market Value

Over the weekend, President Trump signed an executive order purporting to defer the payment of the employee’s share of the Social Security portion of FICA (payroll) tax from September 1, 2020, until December 31, 2020. The order is limited to only the employee’s share of the Social Security portion of the payroll tax, which is currently set at 6.2%. The order does not affect the Medicare portion of the payroll tax (1.45%), nor does the order affect the employer portion of the payroll tax, so these will still have to be withheld (where applicable) and deposited on a timely basis. The order also limits deferrals to employees with biweekly, pretax income of less than $4,000, or a similar amount where a different pay period applies. This roughly equates to an annual salary of $104,000. Importantly, the order is not a suspension of the payroll tax (a “payroll tax holiday”), but merely a deferral. The president directed the Treasury to seek ways to implement a full suspension at a later date, including by legislative action.
Continue Reading Trump Signs Payroll Tax Deferral Executive Order

COVID-19 Update: By agreement of Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann and Speaker of the House Philip Gunn, the Mississippi Legislature will reconvene the 2020 legislative session on Monday, May 18.

The Legislature recessed its 125-day session temporarily on March 18, following the governor’s issuance of a state of emergency related to COVID-19.

Hosemann, Gunn, and members

The Louisiana Department of Revenue issued Revenue Information Bulletin (“RIB”) No. 20-011, which provides filing and payment extension relief for monthly Louisiana severance tax returns, payments, and reports due on April 25, 2020.

The RIB provides that the filing and payment deadline for the February 2020 monthly oil and gas severance tax return, which

The Mississippi Secretary of State’s office has now issued its new Remote Notarization Order Guidance following Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves’ Executive Order 1467, which modified the in-person requirement for notarization temporarily.

According to the new Remote Notarization Order Guidance, effective immediately, and continuing throughout the period of the State of Emergency Proclamation as declared by Governor Reeves on March 17, 2020, Mississippi notaries public are authorized to perform notarial acts by remote notarization and remote online notarization.Continue Reading Mississippi Secretary of State Issues New Remote Notarization Order Guidance

Today, in compliance with Proclamation No. JBE 2020-41, which was issued by Governor Edwards on April 2, 2020, the Louisiana Tax Commission (LTC) issued Statewide Advisory 03-2020 providing for the continued suspension and continuance without date of all LTC appeal hearings. The LTC will continue to meet telephonically to consider ad valorem property tax change order requests, tax sale certifications and similar matters.

In addition, the Advisory explains that JBE 2020-41 continues the suspension of the statutory April 1, 2020 deadline for filing personal property renditions with local assessors (for property owners other than public service companies) and annual reports of public service companies with the LTC to at least April 30, 2020.Continue Reading Louisiana Tax Commission Issues Additional Guidance on Hearings and Property Tax Filing Deadlines

This afternoon the Mississippi Department of Revenue issued a notice containing updated information related to multiple extended filing deadlines and audit procedures. Among the changes are the following:

  • Income and franchise tax filing deadlines remain extended to May 15 (no change from prior notice)
  • Sales and use tax return filing deadlines remain unchanged, but