I purchased a gift basket from a remote retailer. It contains food and other items such as candles and napkins. Since food is not subject to state tax, do I owe any consumer use tax?

Yes, you do. When nontaxable items (food for home consumption) are bundled with taxable items (candles, napkins, etc.) and all items are included in a single sales price, consumer use tax is due on the sales price of the entire item (gift basket). If the individual items are separately billed on the invoice (not included in a single sales price) and you can distinguish between the nontaxable items and the taxable items, then consumer use tax will only be due on those items subject to state sales tax. For example: you purchase cheese, crackers, napkins and service utensils from a remote retailer. Each item has a separate price on the invoice. Only the napkins and service utensils are subject to Louisiana consumer use tax (taxable items). The cheese and crackers would be considered food for home consumption and not subject to consumer use tax.