LOCAL TAX DIVISION

CALL FOR CANDIDATES: LOCAL TAX JUDGE

Learn About the Local Tax Division

The Local Tax Division was created by Act 640 of 2014 to provide a forum for the uniform adjudication of all Local Tax disputes. The law provides that one member of the Court of Tax Appeals is selected to serve as Local Tax Judge, hearing all cases in the Local Tax Division. This Local Tax Judge is selected to a six-year term from an equally balanced nominating committee, with half comprised of taxpayer and business representatives and the other half appointed by Louisiana local government officials.

All cases from all Louisiana parish collectors are heard in the Local Tax Division.

A case heard in the Local Tax Division will generally be handled in the same manner as a state case. However, the Local Tax Judge will hear and decide the case alone without the other two members of the board.

The Uniform Local Sales Tax Code governs the procedural aspects of Local Sales and Use Tax collection, even where its provisions differ from the procedures governing the Louisiana Department of Revenue and state taxes. (Relevant law is also found in Chapter 17 of Title 47 (2015).pdf)

Justice Cade R. Cole, Louisiana’s First Local Tax Judge

Cade R. Cole was initially appointed by the Governor to be a member of the Board of Tax Appeals in January 2013. He also served as Vice-Chairman of the full Board of Tax Appeals until March 10, 2025.

In June 2014, he was unanimously selected as the first Judge of the Local Tax Division by its eight member nominating committee.

Cade is Board Certified as a Specialist in Tax Law by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization, and served as chair of the Tax Law Specialization Commission. He is a former Chairman of the Tax Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association. Cade has also served as a member of the vetting committee for Louisiana's federal judicial nominations.

Justice Cole serves on the planning committee of the National Conference of State Tax Judges, and is active with the American Bar Association State and Local Tax Committee.

Additionally, Justice Cole serves as a member of the House of Delegates of the the Louisiana State Bar Association, and in 2013 Justice Cole received the Southwest Louisiana Bar Association's Outstanding Service Award for work obtaining improved indigent defense funding.

Justice Cole has served as DeQuincy City Magistrate, Vinton Town Attorney, Sulphur City Attorney, Asst. District Attorney (14th JDC and 38th JDC), and Special Counsel to the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives. He is also a former member of the Louisiana Serve Commission, having been appointed by Governor Mike Foster.

He is a graduate of the Tulane School of Law, where he obtained the award for highest performance in Obligations II, Income Tax, and Public Utility and Energy Regulation.

After law school, Cade served as a Law Clerk to Justice Jeannette Knoll of the Louisiana Supreme Court before entering private practice in Lake Charles. He is admitted to the bar in Louisiana and Florida, all state and federal courts in Louisiana, federal courts in Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the United States Tax Court.

On March 11, 2025, Justice was Cole was sworn in as Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court. Justice Cole leaves the BTA with a legacy of historic reforms to Louisiana’s system of local tax adjudication. During his tenure with the BTA, the Board's jurisdiction expanded to serve taxpayers and Louisiana in matters concerning local sales taxes, summary rule proceedings, ad valorem property tax cases, and all matters related to state and local taxes and fees. His efforts as Local Tax Judge ensured that taxpayers have access to a pre-payment independent forum for the resolution of local tax disputes for the first time in Louisiana’s history.

Justice Cole and his wife, Rebekah, have two sons and two daughters, and reside in Lake Charles. Mrs. Cole is a Chemical Engineer that is active in many community causes, and also serves as a member of the Louisiana Judicial Compensation Commission.