My neighbors have five dogs, and they allow these dogs out in their backyard to do their business. They never clean it up. This stuff lays there, ferments and it’s an odor that you can hardly stand. We can’t even sit on our patio; the flies are terrible. Is there an ordinance against this?
Yes.
Section 4-22 of the Lake Charles code defines a nuisance animal, in part, as one that “causes unsanitary conditions or odors about the premises of the owner through urination or defecation.”
For more information, call Calcasieu Parish Animal Services, which enforces Lake Charles’ dog ordinances, at 721-3730.
Other area municipalities have similar provisions in their ordinance codes, including DeQuincy, Kinder, Leesville, Sulphur and Vinton. Additionally, both Calcasieu and Cameron parishes have such ordinances.
Online: www.cityoflakecharles.com; www.municode.com.
La. consumer use tax amounts to 9 percent
How much is the tax we have to pay to Louisiana for merchandise bought through the internet and catalogs?
The rate on the tax, which is called the consumer use tax, is 9 percent. Five percent goes to the state; 4 percent goes to local taxing jurisdictions.
“The purpose of the use tax is not only to raise revenue, but also to prevent retailers located out-of-state from having an unfair competitive advantage against in-state retailers who have to charge the sales tax. …,” reads the website of the state Revenue Department.
“Out-of-state retailers include mail-order catalogs, television shopping networks, firms selling over the internet, retailers located outside Louisiana, etc.”
According to the Revenue Department’s latest annual collection report, the state took in $1.5 million in consumer use taxes from individuals in fiscal year 2016. That includes $1.3 million that taxpayers reported on their state income tax returns.
For more information, call the department headquarters at 855-307-3893 or the Lake Charles office at 491-2504.
Online: www.revenue.louisiana.gov.
State law lists 3 ways to emancipate minors
At what age can a child emancipate himself from his parents?
The earliest a minor can be emancipated from his or her parents in Louisiana is 16. Minors can be emancipated via judicial order, marriage or “authentic act.”
Explanations for each, according to the website of the Legal Education and Assistance Program, a Louisiana Bar Association project:
Judicial order — “A court may order full or limited emancipation of a minor ‘for good cause.’ The judge decides whether there is a good cause to emancipate the minor. A full emancipation gives all the legal rights of adulthood to a minor, unless otherwise specified in the law. … In a limited emancipation, the court decides which rights to give to the minor and if the minor stays legally a minor in any other ways.”
Marriage — “If a minor is married, he/she is fully emancipated. Emancipation does not terminate if the marriage ends in divorce.”
Authentic act — “The parents of the minor and the minor may agree to a limited emancipation. All other aspects of being a minor remain. An authentic act is an agreement between two parties that requires no court hearing. The agreement must be signed in front of a notary.”
The laws on emancipation can be found in the Louisiana Civil Code, beginning with Article 365.
Online: https://lasc.libguides.com/leap-resources; www.legis.la.gov.
The Informer answers questions from readers each Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. It is researched and written by Andrew Perzo, an American Press staff writer. To ask a question, call 494-4098 and leave voice mail, or email informer@americanpress.com.
