La. R.S. 47:6006.1 — Tax credits for taxes paid with respect to vessels in Outer Continental Shelf Lands

Act Waters
A. There shall be allowed a credit against any Louisiana income tax for ad valorem
taxes paid to political subdivisions on vessels in Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Waters
as certified to the assessor pursuant to R.S. 47:1956(B) within the calendar year immediately
preceding the taxable year of assessment of such vessel. For purposes of this Section, ad
valorem taxes shall be deemed to be paid to political subdivisions when they are paid either
in money or by applying credits established pursuant to R.S. 47:2132.
B. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Chapter 1 of Subtitle II of this Title,
as amended, the following rules shall apply with respect to the application of the credit
established in Subsection A of this Section:
(1) The credit for taxes paid by or on behalf of a corporation shall be applied against
Louisiana income taxes of the corporation. However, any credit allowable to any member
of an affiliated group of corporations, as defined in Section 1504 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1954, as amended, shall be applied against Louisiana income taxes of the member
and any other member of the affiliated group of corporations until the entire amount of the
credit has been applied against Louisiana income taxes.
(2) The credit for taxes paid by an individual shall be applied against Louisiana
personal income taxes.
(3) The credit for taxes paid by or on behalf of a corporation classified under
Subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, as an S corporation shall
be applied first against any Louisiana corporation income tax due by the S corporation, and
the remainder of any credit shall be allocated to the shareholder or shareholders of the S
corporation in accordance with their respective interests and applied against the Louisiana
income tax of the shareholder or shareholders of the S corporation.
(4) The credit for taxes paid by or on behalf of a partnership shall be allocated to the
partners according to their distributive shares of partnership gross income and applied against
any Louisiana income tax liability of the partners.
(5) The character of the credit for taxes paid by or on behalf of a partnership or S
corporation and allocated to the partners or shareholders, respectively, of such partnership
or S corporation, shall be determined as if such credit were incurred by such partners or
shareholders, as the case may be in the same manner as incurred by the partnership or S
corporation, as the case may be.
(6) The credit for taxes paid by an estate or trust shall be applied against the
Louisiana income tax imposed on estates and trusts.
C. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary in this Title, any
excess of allowable credit established by this Section over the aggregate tax liabilities against
which the credit can be applied, as provided in this Section, shall constitute an overpayment,
as defined in R.S. 47:1621(A), and the secretary shall make a refund of the overpayment
from the current collections of the taxes imposed by Chapter 1 of Subtitle II of this Title,
together with interest as provided in R.S. 47:1624. The right to a credit or refund of an
overpayment shall not be subject to the requirements of R.S. 47:1621(B). All credits and
refunds, together with interest thereon, must be paid or disallowed within ninety days of
receipt by the secretary of the claim for refund or credit. Failure of the secretary to pay or
disallow, in whole or in part, any claim for a credit or a refund shall entitle the aggrieved
taxpayer to proceed with the remedies provided in R.S. 47:1625.
D.(1) For the purpose of allowing the credit or refund for ad valorem taxes paid to
political subdivisions as provided herein, the term "vessel" shall include ships, oceangoing
tugs, towboats, and barges. The term "Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Waters" as used
herein shall have the meaning ascribed to it in R.S. 47:1702.
(2) The acceptance by the sheriff and ex officio tax collector of the ad valorem taxes
paid by a taxpayer as certified under R.S. 47:1956(B) shall conclusively establish: that such
property was properly classified as a "vessel", for purpose of this Section; that such vessel
was "principally operated" in Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Waters during the
applicable tax year; and that such taxpayer shall be entitled to a credit or refund pursuant to
this Section.
E. The credit provided in this Section shall be allowed as follows:
(1) For ad valorem taxes on Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Waters vessels paid
to political subdivisions on or after July 1, 1994, and before June 30, 1995, the credit shall
be sixty percent of such taxes paid.
(2) For ad valorem taxes on Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Waters vessels paid
to political subdivisions on or after July 1, 1995, and before June 30, 1996, the credit shall
be eighty percent of such taxes paid.
(3) For ad valorem taxes on Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Waters vessels paid
to political subdivisions on or after July 1, 1996, the credit shall be one hundred percent of
such taxes paid.
F.(1) Nothing herein and any taxes paid by a taxpayer relative to any vessel, as
defined herein, shall in any way prohibit any taxpayer from the payment of ad valorem taxes
under protest or to otherwise resist the collection of such ad valorem taxes. Further, nothing
in this Section shall affect, define, interpret, in whole or in part, or otherwise determine the
applicability of the international trade exemption in Article VII, Section 21(C)(16) of the
Constitution of Louisiana or any other applicable rights, exemptions, exclusions,
preemptions, or peremptions under the Constitution of Louisiana as amended, the
Constitution of the United States as amended, all treaties and executive agreements of the
United States, all intrastate agreements and compacts between Louisiana and other states, all
laws of Louisiana as amended, and all laws of the United States of America as amended.
(2)(a) If a taxpayer pays ad valorem taxes under protest, the taxpayer shall notify the
Department of Revenue by submitting a copy of the payment under protest notice, along with
a copy of the lawsuit that was filed. Notice shall be provided to the department within five
business days of the date the lawsuit is filed. If the taxpayer prevails in the suit against the
political subdivision, the amount of the credit issued under the provisions of this Section for
ad valorem taxes paid by the taxpayer that the court determined not to be due shall be subject
to recapture by the department as provided for in R.S. 47:1621(E), with interest at the rate
provided in R.S. 9:3500(B)(1), except as may be otherwise provided in Subsection G of this
Section. The taxpayer and the local taxing authorities shall notify the department of the
decision by submitting a copy of the final, non-appealable judgment to the department.
(b) Any action by the Department of Revenue to recapture the tax credits shall be
initiated within two years from the date that the department receives notice of the final
judgment in the suit related to the payment of the taxes under protest.
G.(1) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of R.S. 47:2134(C), if a suit is timely
filed and the sole challenge in the suit is a challenge of the legality of the ad valorem tax on
vessels in Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act waters, the collecting officer or officers shall
not be required to segregate the amount paid under protest or hold the amount paid under
protest in escrow pending the outcome of the suit.
(2) The Department of Revenue shall not pursue any action to recapture credits
issued for ad valorem taxes related to a suit challenging the legality of the ad valorem tax on
vessels in Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act waters if the taxpayer prevails, the collecting
officer or officers was not required to segregate or escrow the amount paid in accordance
with this Subsection, and the taxpayer does not receive a refund of the ad valorem taxes paid
from the collecting officer or officers.
(3) In the event the taxpayer prevails in a suit challenging the legality of the ad
valorem tax on vessels in Outer Continental Shelf Lands Acts waters and the collecting
officer or officers refunds any amount paid under protest that was not required to be
segregated or held in escrow, the taxpayer shall file an amended tax return within sixty days
of the date of issuance of the refund reflecting the amount of the refund and any interest paid
on the refunded amount as a reduction in the ad valorem tax credit originally received for the
taxes paid under protest. Any taxpayer failing to file an amended return as set forth in this
Subsection shall be subject to the penalty provided for in R.S. 47:1602.
(4) This Subsection shall not apply to any payment under protest made by a taxpayer
challenging the correctness of an assessment as provided in R.S. 47:2134(B).
H. Taxpayers that pay ad valorem taxes for the 2020 tax year that are eligible for the
credit provided by this Section but are paid after December 31, 2020, may elect to treat these
taxes as having been paid on December 31, 2020, for purposes of this credit, provided that
the payments are made to the local tax collector on or before April 15, 2021. Taxpayers that
make this election shall not also claim these taxes as having been paid in 2021 for purposes
of claiming this credit for the 2021 tax year.
Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 59, §1, eff. July 7, 1994; Acts 2002, No. 11, §1, eff. for
all taxable periods beginning after Dec. 31, 2002; Acts 2015, No. 357, §1, eff. June 29, 2015;
Acts 2017, No. 418, §1, eff. July 1, 2017; Acts 2020, 2
nd
Ex. Sess., No. 56, §1, eff. Nov. 5,
2020; Acts 2024, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 6, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2026.
NOTE: See Acts 2017, No. 418, §2, re: applicability.