Last Wednesday, a bill unanimously passed exempting custom-based software from sales taxes in East Baton Rouge city-parish. It received strong support from the city and the Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Commerce.
It all started when Logan Leger found out the city of Baton Rouge was seeking sales tax from him. Leger is the CEO of mobile app development firm NewAperio and was the first to introduce the possibly legislation to the previous councilman Mike Walker.
Leger said, “[Walker] immediately understood the need for a bill to exempt custom software. In light of the state’s economic incentives, it just didn’t make sense.”
According to Nola.com, new councilman Buddy Amoroso confirmed the state passed similar legislation exempting taxes on custom-built software back in 2002. The hope was that the same could be done on the local levels. Following this legislation, only Orleans Parish passed a bill. Leger said Amorosa was excited about the new possibility for Baton Rouge, picking up where Walker left off.
“This exemption is important for economic development in the city,” said Leger. “It was a great showing of solidarity: we really showed the rest of Louisiana, and the nation, that we’re excited about tech companies. Baton Rouge is a great place to build a business, and now it’s more tax-friendly for custom software.”