When trying to fix Louisiana’s budget last session, corporate tax breaks were on the chopping block.
“What we did was essentially go in and suspend the tax exemptions, tax credits and tax rebates by a certain percentage,” Monroe Rep. Katrina Jackson, the author of those bills explained to House Ways and Means Committee members Friday morning.
Jackson’s bills cut the tax breaks by 28-percent for 3 years. They haven’t worked as expected, however: currently, corporate tax collections are a negative number. The state has paid out $210-million more to businesses than it has collected in taxes.
Jackson’s bills for this session would make the 28-percent cut permanent.
“If you don’t address the sunsets, what you do create is another fiscal cliff to deal with,” State Revenue Secretary Kim Robinson said.
The expected groups filed objections: LABI, NFIB, LMOGA, and the Koch brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity. Rhonda Reap-Curiel with the Louisiana Industrial Development Executives Association – LIDEA – spoke for them all.
“We can’t afford to lose any more on these incentives,” Reap-Curiel testified. She then pointed to the sectors that shed jobs in 2015.
“Oil and gas is down 9900 jobs. Trade, transportation and utilities -- that includes retail, wholesale and our distribution centers – down 12,600 jobs. You want to know why your sales tax is down? Because you’re losing retailers. I can’t tell you it’s because of the incentive cuts. I can tell you some areas? It is.”
House Ways and Means returned the measures to the calendar, for a vote – hopefully – later next week.