Louisiana will not impose a new sales tax on travel advisors' services.
Following a special session of the state's legislature designed to change Louisiana's tax code, and a grassroots advocacy campaign from ASTA, the tax plan does not include a tax on the services of advisors, the Society said Monday.
"This victory underscores the importance of active engagement in the legislative process, ensuring that the interests of the travel community are represented and protected," vice president of advocacy Jessica Klement said.
Initially, legislators wanted to levy a new tax on services categorized "luxury items," including advisors' services. Agencies across the state "flooded the governor's office and the legislature with calls and emails to educate them on the consequences," ASTA said, explaining that clients would likely seek advisors in other states where their services were not taxed.
ASTA helped mobilize the advocacy effort against the tax.
"Adding a sales tax to our services would have created an extra burden to doing business here in our state," Samantha Musso, president of the Greater New Orleans ASTA Chapter and owner of New Destinations Travel in Bush, La., said in a release. "We knew this would have resulted in serious financial consequences for both travel advisors and our clients, so we are pleased that this misguided sales tax did not come to fruition."