As of Jan. 1, Amazon is charging and collecting sales tax for online purchases made in Louisiana. The taxes, both state and local, are distributed according to the recipient’s address.
Natchitoches Tax Commission Administrator Jerry McWherter said his agreement with Amazon is comprised of 15 companies that registered with the online retailer. February, the first recordable month of sales, saw online sales for Natchitoches Parish totaling $51,460. This generated $2,333 in sales tax. Over $8 million in sales were recorded statewide.
Of this, the City district, which includes the school board, City and Sheriff’s Office, had $33,743 in sales. This generated $1,687 in taxes. The City’s tax rate is 50 percent, which means they received $843.50 of the total taxes collected.
Amazon sales in the Parish totaled $16,034, generating $561.19 in taxes. Amazon sales in Clarence totaled $80, generating $3.60. Amazon sales in Natchez totaled $446, generating $20.07. Amazon sales in Campti totaled $955, generating $52.53. Amazon sales in Robeline totaled $201, generating $9.05.
While these numbers may not seem like a lot of money, McWherter said it’s money the Parish has never had. While January and February aren’t always big sales months, McWherter says there will be a push in income tax returns. Sales should pick up in March, however, there’s no historical data to project trends with these tax collections.
See the March Tax Report below, which reports on taxes remitted in February, which are from January sales.
McWherter said everything is flat and it’s not going away, however Natchitoches is holding its own.
