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Ordinance committee seeks to add digital services to Abbeville sales tax, will revisit vendor commission
Summary
The Abbeville Ordinance Committee discussed amending Section 1780 to add digital goods and services to the city sales tax and to revisit the vendor compensation rate; staff will refine language with the school board and police jury and return a revised draft to the committee.
The Abbeville City Council Ordinance Committee met Aug. 19 to consider amending Section 1780 of the municipal code to add digital goods and services to the list of taxable sales and to revisit the vendor compensation (dealers commission) paid to businesses that remit sales tax.
Councilman Tony Hardy, who chaired the session, said staff had been consulting with the local school board—the municipality's sales tax collection agency—and that the ordinance needs a definition adding digital goods so the city can lawfully collect tax on those items. "We're just adding digital services to to being taxable," Hardy said.
Hardy also raised the vendor compensation issue, noting the current ordinance specifies a 2% dealers commission. "We currently our ordinance says 2%. I believe it should stay at 2% but the problem is with the school board it's an antiquated system and they can only uh collect a single rate across the whole parish," he said, summarizing technical constraints the committee must factor into any change. Members discussed options mentioned by staff and stakeholders, including keeping a uniform 2% rate or offering a 1% rebate for businesses; Hardy said the final percentage had not been decided.
Hardy told the committee the draft language attached to the agenda will be revised after further calls with the school board and the police jury. "I'm going to modify that and bring it back to y'all once that's done," he said, and asked for a motion to forward the ordinance amendment to the regular city council meeting for consideration when the vendor compensation percentage is finalized.
A committee member moved to forward the item and another seconded. The chair called for a vote and the transcript records the response as "All oppos." The transcript does not unambiguously record a clear vote tally or final procedural outcome; committee members then ended discussion and adjourned the meeting.
Hardy said staff and the board will undertake a broader review of the city's sales tax chapter at a later date to update other provisions and ensure the code is current. The committee did not set a final vendor compensation percentage during the meeting; that figure will be determined in coordination with the school board and returned to the committee for further action.
