Winter Weather Delays Louisiana Tax Refunds

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Looking for your state tax refund? The revenue department says they'll start going out next Friday.

State lawmakers raised concerns about the slow pace, saying residents have been waiting weeks to get the money they're owed.

Senate President John Alario, a tax consultant, told the revenue department Friday that delayed tax refunds can impact the economy.

Revenue Secretary Tim Barfield says refunds will start flowing Feb. 28, a month after tax filing began.

He says the agency was delayed by processing changes and by snow days that slowed down additional system tweaks. He also says the first batch of tax returns get held a bit longer for system testing.

Barfield says he expects returns being filed now to average about 10 business days for processing, the same as last year.