La. R.S. 47:6014 — Credit for property taxes paid by certain telephone companies; fund

A. Pursuant to the provisions of this Section, there shall be allowed a credit against
Louisiana income taxes in an amount equal to forty percent of the aggregate ad valorem taxes
paid to political subdivisions of this state after December 31, 2000, by a telephone company,
as defined in R.S. 47:1851, with respect to such telephone company's public service
properties, as defined in R.S. 47:1851, which are assessed by the Louisiana Tax Commission
at twenty-five percent of fair market value pursuant to R.S. 47:1854.
B. The credit allowed under this Section shall be applied against any Louisiana
income tax shown on a return filed by a person, as defined in R.S. 47:2, entitled to the credit
as determined under Subsection C of this Section for income tax years ending on or after
December 31, 2001.
C. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the following provisions
shall apply with respect to the application of the credit established in Subsection A of this
Section:
(1) The credit for ad valorem taxes paid by or on behalf of a corporation shall be
applied against Louisiana corporation income tax 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 1986, as amended, shall be applied against Louisiana
corporation income tax 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
corporation income taxes.
(2) The credit for taxes paid by an individual shall be applied against the Louisiana
individual income tax.
(3) The credit for taxes paid by or on behalf of a corporation classified under
Subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 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 credit for taxes paid by or on behalf of a limited liability company shall be
allocated to the members according to their distributive shares of the limited liability
company's gross income and applied against any Louisiana income tax liability of the
members; however, the credit for taxes paid by or on behalf of a limited liability company
treated as a corporation for Louisiana income tax purposes may be applied against the
Louisiana corporation income taxes of the limited liability company.
(6) The character of the credit for taxes paid by or on behalf of a partnership, S
corporation, or limited liability company not treated as a corporation for Louisiana income
tax purposes and allocated to the partners, shareholders, or members, respectively, of such
partnership, S corporation, or limited liability company, shall be determined as if such credit
were incurred by such partners, shareholders, or members, in the same manner as incurred
by such partnership, S corporation, or limited liability company.
(7) The credit for taxes paid by an estate or trust shall be applied against the
Louisiana income tax imposed on estates and trusts.
D. The excess, if any, of the credit allowed by this Section over the aggregate tax
liabilities against which such allowable credit may 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 such overpayment from the current collections of the taxes imposed under
Chapter 2 of Subtitle II of this Title, together with interest as provided in R.S. 47:1624. The
right to a refund of any such overpayment shall not be subject to the requirements of R.S.
47:1621(B). Any such refund, together with interest thereon, shall be paid by the secretary
within ninety days of receipt by the secretary of the return on which the credit allowed by this
Section is claimed. Failure of the secretary to pay such refund, in whole or in part, shall
entitle the aggrieved taxpayer to proceed with the remedies provided in R.S. 47:1625.
E.(1)(a) The avails of sales and use taxes imposed pursuant to R.S. 47:302, 321, and
331 attributable to the furnishing of interstate and international telecommunication services,
as both those terms are defined in Chapter 2 of Subtitle II of this Title, shall be credited to
the Bond Security and Redemption Fund, and after a sufficient amount is allocated from that
fund to pay all of the obligations secured by the full faith and credit of the state which
become due and payable within any fiscal year, the treasurer shall deposit an amount of
avails as determined pursuant to Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph into a special fund
which is hereby created and established in the state treasury and known as the "Telephone
Company Property Assessment Relief Fund", hereinafter the "fund".
(b) The amount of such avails shall be determined by the secretary, by rule, using
industry data as available at the time the fund was originally created, and as had been
published by the Federal Communications Commission. The secretary shall adopt and
promulgate such rule no later than March 1, 2006, and the rule shall be effective for tax
periods starting on or after July 1, 2006.
(2) The monies in the fund shall be used solely and exclusively for the purpose of
providing funds to pay the credits or refunds as provided in this Section. The treasurer shall
annually transfer to the state general fund an amount equal to the credits taken and refunds
issued pursuant to this Section.
(3) The monies in the fund shall be invested by the treasurer in the same manner as
the monies in the state general fund. Interest earned on investment of monies in the fund
shall be deposited in and credited to the fund. Unexpended and unencumbered monies in the
fund at the close of each fiscal year shall remain in the fund.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section to the contrary, in any fiscal
year in which the balance in the fund which is available for appropriation, net of any credits
previously allowed pursuant to this Section, does not equal or exceed the total amount of the
credits taken for that fiscal year pursuant to this Section, the credits allowed in the
succeeding fiscal year shall be proportionately reduced by the amount of the shortfall;
however, any reduction may be carried forward to any succeeding fiscal year. The secretary
shall determine the amount of any reductions required pursuant to this Subsection.
F. Repealed by Acts 2024, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 5, §3, eff. Jan. 1, 2025.
G. 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 2000, No. 22, §6, eff. June 15, 2000; Acts 2002, No. 11, §1, eff. for all taxable
periods beginning after Dec. 31, 2002; Acts 2005, No. 266, §1, eff. July 1, 2005; Acts 2007,
No. 358, §1, eff. Aug. 1, 2007; Acts 2015, No. 357, §1, eff. June 29, 2015; Acts 2020, 2
nd
Ex. Sess., No. 56, §1, eff. Nov. 5, 2020; Acts 2024, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 5, §3, eff. Jan. 1,
2025; Acts 2024, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 6, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2026.
NOTE: See Acts 2024, 3
rd
Ex. Sess., No. 5, §4, regarding applicability to franchise
tax periods beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2026.