Business challenges Louisiana sales tax system in lawsuit

By MELINDA DESLATTE
Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — An out-of-state business has sued Louisiana and several parishes to challenge the state’s patchwork approach to collecting sales taxes. The federal lawsuit filed Monday comes days after voters rejected a constitutional change that would have centralized those tax collections in a single board. Halstead Bead is an Arizona-based business that sells jewelry-making supplies online. Its lawsuit says Louisiana’s parish-by-parish sales tax filing system is a “compliance nightmare.” The company is asking the court to declare it an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce. Halstead Bead is represented by several small-government, right-leaning groups. Lawmakers backed a sales tax consolidation effort, but voters refused it Saturday.