La. R.S. § 47:6022 - Digital interactive media and software tax credit

Cite asLa. R.S. § 47:6022

A. Short title. This Section shall be known and may be referred to as the "Louisiana Digital Media and Software Act".

B. Purpose. The primary objective of this Section is to encourage development in Louisiana of a strong capital base for the production of digital interactive media products and platforms in order to achieve a more independent, self-supporting industry. This objective is divided into immediate and long-term objectives as follows:

(1) Immediate objectives are to:

(a) Attract private investment for the production of digital interactive media products and platforms in this state.

(b) Develop a tax infrastructure which encourages private investment. This infrastructure will provide for state participation in the form of tax credits to encourage investment in state-certified productions.

(c) Develop a tax infrastructure utilizing tax credits which encourage investments in multiple state-certified productions.

(2) Long-term objectives are to:

(a) Encourage increased employment opportunities within this sector and increased competition with other states in fully developing economic development options within digital interactive media products and platforms.

(b) Encourage new education curricula in order to provide a labor force trained in all aspects of digital interactive media.

(c) Encourage partnerships between digital interactive media developers and Louisiana educational institutions.

C. Definitions. For the purposes of this Section:

(1) "Base investment" means the actual funds expended in Louisiana by a state-certified production as production-related costs for design or development of digital interactive media, including costs for payroll and component parts, as defined in this Section.

(2) "Company" means an entity authorized to do business in the state of Louisiana and engaged in the business of producing digital interactive media as defined in this Section. "Company" shall not mean or include any company owned, affiliated, or controlled, in whole or in part, by any company or person subject to any of the following:

(a) Has a contract or application with the Department of Economic Development that is in default or noncompliance.

(b) Is in default on a loan made by the state or a loan guaranteed by the state.

(c) Has ever declared bankruptcy under which an obligation of the company or person to pay or repay public funds or monies was discharged as a part of such bankruptcy.

(3) "Component parts", with respect to digital interactive media, means all elements that are integral to the functioning or development of such products and platforms. Some examples of "component parts" are software, computer code, image files, music files, audio files, video files, scripts and plays, concept mock-ups, software tools, and testing procedures. Component parts shall also include, but not be limited to computer servers, workstations, server racks, hard drives, optical drives, monitors, keyboards, integrated video and audio equipment, networking routers, switches, network cabling, and any other computer-related hardware necessary to create or operate a digital interactive media product or platform.

(4) "Department" means the Louisiana Department of Economic Development.

(5)

(a) "Digital interactive media" means products or platforms that are intended for commercial production, use, or distribution; that contain at least two of the following types of data: text, sound, fixed images, animated images, video, or 3D geometry; and that have all of the following three characteristics:

(i) "Digital" means a system that uses discrete (discontinuous) values ordinarily symbolized numerically to represent information for input, processing, transmission, and storage. A digital system would be contrasted with an "analog" system which uses a continuous range of values to represent information. The term "digital" includes, but is not limited to information input, processed, transmitted and stored via the Internet.

(ii) "Interactive" means a digital media system for inputting, processing, transmitting, or storing information or data in which users of the system are able to respond to the digital media system by inputting, transmitting, processing, or storing information or data in response to the information or data provided to them through the digital media system. "Digital media system" means communications delivered via electronic energy where the information stored, transmitted, or received is in digital form.

(iii) "Media" means communication tools used to store, transmit, distribute, and deliver information and data. The term "media" includes methods and mechanisms for information distribution through, but not limited to distributed networks, such as the Internet, and through compact disc, CD-ROM, various types of DVD, and other removable storage drives and devices.

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