§ 14-171. Right of action; protested amount to be held separately.

A right of action is hereby created to afford a remedy at law for any dealer aggrieved by the provisions of this article; and in case of any such dealer resisting the payment of any amount found due, or the enforcement of any provisions of such laws in relation thereto, such dealer shall pay the amount found due by the collector and shall give the collector notice, at the time, of his intention to file suit for the recovery of the same; and upon receipt of such notice the amount so paid shall be segregated and held by the collector for a period of thirty (30) days; and if suit shall be filed within such time for recovery of such amount, such funds so segregated shall be further held, pending the outcome of such suit. If the dealer prevails, the collector shall refund the amount to the claimant, with interest at the rate provided in R.S. 33:2718 as follows:

(1)

From date of payment of the taxes, but prior to submission by the taxpayer of a claim for refund, interest shall be computed at a rate of not less than two (2) percent per annum.

(2)

From date of submission by the taxpayer of a claim for refund, or from payment under protest, or from the date that the taxpayer gave the political subdivision notice of the taxpayer's intention to file suit for the recovery of any taxes paid, interest shall be at the average prime or reference rate as computed by the commissioner of financial institutions pursuant to Civil Code Article 2924 (B)(3), per year, but without the addition of one (1) percentage point to the average prime or reference rate and without regard to the limitations contained in Civil Code Article 2924 (B)(3)(c).

(3)

The interest rate provided for in paragraph (2) of this section shall not be applicable for a sixty-day period from the date the taxpayer makes a claim for refund, if a refund is the result of the taxpayers administrative error; however, the interest for this sixty-day period shall be computed under the provisions of paragraph (1) of this section.

No interest on refunds or credits shall be allowed if it is determined that a person has deliberately overpaid a tax in order to derive the benefit of the interest allowed by this section. Payments of interest authorized by this section shall be made from funds derived from current collections of the tax to be refunded or credited.

(Ord. No. 98-117, § 12, 5-14-98)