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Cultural districts program instructs liaisons on new reporting requirements after sales-tax exemption repeal
Summary
State cultural-district liaisons were shown how to use Submittable and told the 2026 annual report will now ask for total business revenue and total sales-tax revenue after the repeal of the original-art sales-tax exemption; the deadline is Jan. 31 and staff urged coordination with parish tax administrators.
Francesca Vega, director of the Cultural Districts Program, told a virtual group of cultural-district liaisons that the program’s 2026 annual report requires new economic data after a recent repeal of the sales-tax exemption for original artwork.
Vega demonstrated how to access the online report in Submittable and walked attendees through the form, including contact and liaison fields, optional arts-impact questions, and a new request that each district provide “the total revenue of all the businesses in your cultural district and the total tax revenue of all the businesses in your cultural district.” She said the change is intended to measure economic impact after the exemption’s repeal.
Why it matters: liaisons will often need support from local tax authorities to supply the new figures. Vega advised districts outside Orleans Parish to work with their parish tax administrator, and said Orleans Parish data are coordinated through the mayor’s office of cultural economy and its finance and GIS teams.
Vega recapped the exemption’s history: the program began in 2007 with a full sales-tax exemption on art sales, the benefit narrowed to local-only in 2016, and the exemption was eliminated during a 2024 legislative tax overhaul. “It was essentially eliminated completely at both the state and local level,” she said, adding that a local government could reinstate a local exemption by ordinance if it chose.
Liaisons raised practical questions. Nancy Love said her parish tax administrator requested a complete business list; Vega recommended checking with the local planning department or fire department for business inventories and offered to research each local government’s structure to advise further. Vega also noted many parish tax administrators are busiest at year-end and may be more available to assist after Jan. 1.
The report continues to ask about non-monetary program features: artist spaces, public-art projects, numbers of arts businesses, event attendance, and development indicators such as building renovations and vacancy rates. Vega said those arts-impact questions remain optional when precise counts are difficult.
Deadline and support: the office set a Jan. 31 deadline for the annual report, said prior-year submissions and business lists can be requested via email, and offered technical help for Submittable access. To encourage timely filing, the office will mail swag bags to early respondents and randomly draw two names among on-time submissions for additional prizes.
Next steps: liaisons should log into Submittable, select the submission number matching their cultural district, and begin completing the form; districts that need tax data were advised to contact their parish tax administrator after Jan. 1 or request the office’s help in locating local contacts.
