RS 33:4710.23

§4710.23. Food and beverage tax A.(1)(a) The authority may levy and collect a tax on food and beverages sold by any food service establishment, as defined in this Section, located within the parish of Orleans or in any airport or air transportation facility owned and operated by the city of New Orleans, excluding any food service establishment owned by any individual or corporation who had gross annual receipts of less than two hundred thousand dollars from the operation of all such establishments during the calendar year prior to the year in which the food and beverage tax is assessed. (b) The food and beverage tax shall be in an amount not exceeding one-half of one percent of gross receipts from the sales of food and beverages by food service establishments. (c) The tax shall be paid by the person who purchases such food or beverage and shall be paid at the time that the charge for the food or beverage is paid. (d) The phrase "food service establishment" means any fixed or mobile restaurant; coffee shop; cafeteria; short order café; luncheonette; grill; tearoom; sandwich shop; soda fountain; tavern; bar; cocktail lounge; nightclub; roadside stand; industrial feeding establishment; private, public, or nonprofit organization or institution routinely serving food; catering kitchen; commissary; delicatessen; convenience store; grocery store; or similar place in which food or drink is prepared for sale or for service on the premises or elsewhere; and any other establishment or operation where food or drink is served or provided for the public. However, the food and beverage tax shall not apply to meals furnished to any of the following: the staff and students of educational institutions, including kindergartens; the staff and patients of hospitals; the staff, inmates, and patients of mental institutions; and the boarders of rooming houses. Such tax shall also not apply to occasional meals furnished in connection with or by educational, religious, or medical organizations if the meals are consumed on the premises where purchased. However, sales by any of the above institutions or organizations in facilities open to outsiders or to the general public are not exempt from the food and beverage tax authorized by this Section. (2) The authority shall impose the food and beverage tax by resolution adopted by the board, which may provide in the resolution necessary and appropriate rules and regulations for the imposition, collection, and enforcement of the food and beverage tax, including rules relative to issuance of tax exemption certificates. The resolution levying and imposing the food and beverage tax may not be adopted by the board unless prior thereto the governing authority of the city of New Orleans approves the levy of such food and beverage tax by a favorable vote of a majority of the members present and voting and the question of or proposition to authorize the levy of the food and beverage tax and the use of avails thereof shall have been submitted to the electors of the city of New Orleans at an election called, conducted, canvassed, and promulgated by the governing authority of the city, in accordance with the laws of Louisiana governing the conduct of elections to authorize the issuance of bonds and the levying of taxes, and a majority of those electors voting in such election shall have voted in favor of the question or proposition to impose the food and beverage tax. (3) The authority may contract with the state of Louisiana or the city of New Orleans, or both, for the collection of the food and beverage tax authorized by this Section. (4) Repealed by Acts 2025, No. 178, §2, eff. June 8, 2025. B.(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter or law to the contrary, in addition to other taxes authorized by this Chapter, the authority may levy and collect a tax on food and beverages sold by any food service establishment, as defined in this Subsection, located within the parish of Orleans or in any airport or air transportation facility owned and operated by the city of New Orleans, excluding any food service establishment owned by any individual or corporation who had gross annual receipts of less than two hundred thousand dollars from the operation of all such establishments during the calendar year prior to the year in which the food and beverage tax is assessed. The food and beverage tax shall be in an amount not exceeding one-half of one percent of gross receipts from the sales of food and beverages by food service establishments; such tax shall be paid by the person who purchases such food or beverage and shall be paid at the time that the charge for the food or beverage is paid. The tax authorized by this Subsection shall be levied and collected in lieu of the tax authorized by Subsection A of this Section, and at no time shall the authority collect taxes pursuant to both authorizations. The proceeds of the tax levied pursuant to this Subsection are subject to any and all pledges of the taxes authorized in Subsection A of this Section to the outstanding bonds of the authority. The words "food service establishment" mean any fixed or mobile restaurant; coffee shop; cafeteria; short order café; luncheonette; grill; tearoom; sandwich shop; soda fountain; tavern; bar; cocktail lounge; nightclub; roadside stand; industrial feeding establishment; private, public, or nonprofit organization or institution routinely serving food; catering kitchen; commissary; delicatessen; convenience store; grocery store; or similar place in which food or drink is prepared for sale or for service on the premises or elsewhere; and any other establishment or operation where food or drink is served or provided for the public. However, the food and beverage tax shall not apply to meals furnished to any of the following: the staff and students of educational institutions, including kindergartens; the staff and patients of hospitals; the staff, inmates, and patients of mental institutions; and the boarders of rooming houses. Such tax shall also not apply to occasional meals furnished in connection with or by educational, religious, or medical organizations if the meals are consumed on the premises where purchased. However, sales by any of the above institutions or organizations in facilities open to outsiders or to the general public are not exempt from the food and beverage tax authorized by this Subsection. (2) The authority shall impose the food and beverage tax by resolution adopted by the board which may provide in the resolution necessary and appropriate rules and regulations for the imposition, collection, and enforcement of the tax, including rules relative to issuance of tax exemption certificates. (3) The proceeds of the tax, after paying the reasonable and necessary costs and expenses of collecting and administering the tax, shall be used for the purposes of providing funds to expand and improve the convention, exhibition, and tourist facilities and projects and the necessary furnishings, machinery, equipment, and appurtenances therefor, including the acquisition of land through lease or purchase needed therefor; and the authority may fund the proceeds of the tax into bonds or other obligations of the authority for the purposes described in this Subsection, to the extent and in the manner permitted by this Chapter. (4) Repealed by Acts 2025, No. 178, §2, eff. June 8, 2025. Acts 2019, No. 172, §1; Acts 2025, No. 178, §2, eff. June 8, 2025.