The Shreveport Aquarium has agreed to pay more than $16,000 in taxes owed to Bossier Parish.
Documents filed in Bossier district court on Jan. 16 show that the Shreveport Aquarium has agreed to pay the Bossier City-Parish Sales and Use Tax Division $16,308 for unpaid taxes from August to October 2018.
The Bossier Parish Sales and Use Tax Division filed a civil lawsuit against the aquarium last year alleging that it owed more than $29,000 in unpaid taxes.
“The Shreveport Aquarium and Bossier City-Parish Sales and Use Tax Division have reached an agreement on payment for arrears. Payments are being made according to the terms of the agreement,” said Jake Wood, spokesperson for the Planet Aqua Group — the firm that owns the Shreveport Aquarium.
Although the aquarium is located in downtown Shreveport, it sits on land that is partially in Bossier Parish.
“The Shreveport Aquarium is in the City of Shreveport and the Parish of Bossier. Since this area is included in Bossier Parish, the Bossier City-Parish Sales & Use Tax Division collects any sales tax, use tax, and hotel occupancy tax levied by the Bossier government agencies over the area,” explained Bossier City Spokesperson Traci Landry. “For the sections of Bossier Parish within the city limits of Shreveport, the Bossier City-Parish Sales and Use Tax Division collects the Bossier Parish portion only and remits it to the agencies they represent.”
The aquarium is currently involved in other lawsuits filed by businesses.
Several contractors filed civil lawsuits last year alleging nonpayment for the work that was done to get the building remodeled and ready for opening in November 2017.
Michigan-based construction company Weiland-Davco, which served as general contractor on the project, filed a lawsuit in October 2018 alleging the aquarium owed it nearly $260,000.
Shreveport-based Rimmer Electric filed a lawsuit against the aquarium and Wieland-Davco in October 2018 for work done at the aquarium under two separate contracts.
Another Shreveport-based company, the Payne Company, filed a lawsuit against the aquarium and Wieland-Davco in November 2018 for plumbing and air conditioning work under two separate contracts.
