Halstead Bead v. Lewis
Byzantine Tax Regulations Harm Small Businesses
Halstead Bead is a family-owned jewelry and crafts wholesale business started fifty years ago in Prescott, Arizona. Run by husband-and-wife team Hilary and Brad Scott, the business sells to customers around the country. But some states have made it nearly impossible for small businesses like Halstead to operate.
In Louisiana, businesses were expected to comply with different tax laws in 64 different parishes and file up to 750 tax returns every year. Large corporations like Home Depot have the marketing and legal departments to comply with these complicated requirements. For businesses like Halstead, it's almost impossible.
Taxpayer Defense Center Takes Action
The burden that Louisiana placed on small businesses like Halstead Bead was so onerous that it should have been considered unconstitutional. That’s why NTUF’s Taxpayer Defense Center represented Halstead Bead in a lawsuit against the state of Louisiana—to ensure that the kinds of businesses that can’t afford massive legal teams can still sell to Louisianans.
“What the state’s sales tax structure does is cut off Louisianans from markets that other Americans have access to, and entrenches the power of the biggest companies in the U.S.,” said Hilary Halstead Scott, plaintiff in the suit and proprietor of Halstead Bead. “When people can’t buy from small, family-run businesses, they turn to large companies that have the resources to meet the onerous compliance requirements. Louisiana’s sales tax rules reduce consumer choice and grow the power of big business.”
Legislative Fixes Moot Case
At the end of Louisiana’s 2023 legislative session, Gov. John Bel Edwards signed a pair of laws that reformed the state's remote sales tax collection system. Due to NTUF’s legal advocacy and policy work, Louisiana today is a much better place to do business. While more work still needs to be done, NTUF filed a motion to moot the case.