BATON ROUGE - International visitors to Louisiana will enjoy the convenience of Baton Rouge's first tax-free shopping refund center when it celebrates its grand opening on September 27, 2011.  The refund center processes the paperwork for eligible shoppers to receive cash refunds for sales taxes under the Louisiana Tax Free Shopping Program for International Visitors (LTFS).  The Baton Rouge refund center joins existing locations in Metairie, New Orleans, Kenner, Lafayette, and Shreveport.  The new LTFS refund center will be inside of Macy's located within the Mall of Louisiana.

"Retail shopping is one of the top activities for international visitors coming to Louisiana," said LTFS Executive Director Denise Thevenot.  "We're excited to partner with Macy's once again, giving visitors another convenient way to enjoy the tax-free shopping program."

The LTFS Program provides international visitors with an exemption from sales taxes for most retail purchases.  In order to be eligible for the program, a visitor must be travelling on a foreign passport with a current U.S. tourist visa and be staying in the country for less than 90 days.  Established in 1989, the LTFS Program has assisted over 600,000 international visitors spending over $500 million dollars while shopping in Louisiana.

Normal operating hours for the Baton Rouge refund center are 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., seven days a week. 

      

CONTACT: 
Denise Thevenot, Executive Director, Louisiana Tax Free Shopping, 504-458-8258  phone

                     
Steve Windham, Executive Director of Encore Commission, Office of the Lt. Governor, 225-342-7009