A recent Louisiana law enables taxpayers who purchase or lease an annual average of $5 million (previously $15 million) of tangible personal property and taxable services to obtain a Direct Payment Number, enabling them to purchase materials without paying tax to the vendor. To qualify, the taxpayer must have had a $5 million average for the previous three calendar years, and must maintain the average for each subsequent three-year period. In addition, taxpayers who have entered into a tax exemption contract with the Department of Economic Development will be issued a Direct Payment Number for the duration of the contract, which will remove the taxpayer’s responsibility to remit use taxes on exempt purchases when filing monthly sales and use tax returns. (Act 456 (S.B. 445), Laws 2008, effective August 15, 2008)