§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 corporation or individual income taxes and Louisiana corporation franchise tax for, and 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(Q), with respect to such telephone company's public service properties, as defined in R.S. 47:1851(M), 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 or corporation franchise tax shown on a return filed by a person as defined in R.S. 47:2, entitled to such credit as determined under Subsection C of this Section for income or franchise 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 and corporation franchise taxes of such corporation. However, any such 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 and corporation franchise taxes of such member and any other member of such affiliated group of corporations until the entire amount of the credit has been applied against such Louisiana corporation income taxes or corporation franchise 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 and corporation franchise taxes due by such S corporation, and the remainder of any such credit shall be allocated to the shareholder or shareholders of such S corporation in accordance with their respective interests and applied against the Louisiana income tax of such 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 and corporation franchise tax liability of such 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 such limited liability company's gross income and applied against any Louisiana income tax and corporation franchise tax liability of such 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 such 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. Commencing no later than January 31, 2016, the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Revenue and Fiscal Affairs shall review the credit authorized pursuant to the provisions of this Section to determine if the economic benefit provided by such credit outweighs the loss of revenue realized by the state as a result of awarding such credit. The House and Senate committees shall make a specific recommendation no later than March 1, 2017, to either continue the credit or to terminate the credit.

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.