Fusilier becomes parish’s first certified tax examiner

After five years with the Evangeline Parish Sales Tax Commission Candice Fusilier is officially Evangeline Parish’s first ever certified tax examiner.
With this new certification Fusilier will perform her same duties, however her new credentials will provide her with a way to prove that she knows exactly what she is doing.
“One of my greatest accomplishments in life has been becoming a certified tax examiner,” the 2008 McNeese State University graduate said. “If people question your qualifcations, you have credentials to show with this certification, which the state began offering in 2003.”
The Vidrine native’s duties at the sales tax commission is to perform audits on local businesses, find out who has been delinquent on taxes, make sure the correct amount of revenue is collected, and provide insight to business owners when it comes to new laws that affect them. Fusilier also can provide information to individuals looking to start a new business.
Working in this capacity, Fusilier said, “Sometimes you have to deliver bad news to people, but we work very hard to make sure that business owners have a positive experience and outcome from working with us.”
Of the 64 parishes in Louisiana, only 11 other parishes have certified tax examiners on staff that have gone through the process of studying and preparing for the Certified Tax Examiner (CTE) exam that Fusilier passed in October of this year.
Along with passing the CTE exam, and individual must also have a bachelor’s degree as well as have at least two years of experience working in sales and use tax auditing with a La. governmental entity or a La. Sales Tax Commission.
To solidify her spot among a small group of individuals that possess a certified tax examiner credential, Fusilier traveled to Baton Rouge earlier this month to accept her CTE certificate at the Annual Louisiana Association of Tax Administrators Conference.
Her hard work has not gone unoticed by the Evangeline Parish Tax Commission Director Mike Veillon either, who following the conference said, “We are very proud of Candice. This certification gives her some prestige, because it proves she has the ability to perform her job. We are just thankful that she is working here and not anywhere else.”
Turkey Creek Mayor Heather Cloud, who serves on the tax commission board, is also very proud of Fusilier’s accomplishments.
Cloud said, “Needless to say, when our board hired Ms. Candice Fusilier five years ago, we made the right decision. She’s a quick study and she has proven herself extremly capable. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have such a highly qualified parish tax auditor who represents our board with integrity and expertise.”
As Fusilier continues her career with the sales tax commission as a certified tax examiner, she hopes to play a part in making good things happen in Evangeline Parish.
Fusilier said, “I hope for a better future for our parish even when revenues are down. I want people in the public to know that they do not have to fear coming to us if they have a question because we are here to help them in anyway that we can. Knowledge is power, and we want to teach our business owners everything that we can.”