The Latest Insult To The State and People Of Louisiana By The State Legislature

Tyler Bridges of the New Orleans Advocate in an article dated 4/28 reported Governor Edwards is pushing legislators to focus on tax breaks to raise state revenue, but guess what?  The Governor found out the legislature has no system to justify the tax breaks and judge if those tax breaks are doing the job the business lobby claims they do such as creating jobs and etc.

 "PolitiDose" reported many times how the $8 billion a year in tax breaks given to business is the main reason why Louisiana has a revenue problem.  The article also reported what was known earlier that Corporations are enjoying more tax breaks than they are paying in Corporate taxes.  Governor Edwards said what business would spend money and not know what return it is getting.  Yet, that is exactly what the state Legislature has been doing with those business tax breaks.

It is a little late in the game for the legislature to wait around and come up with a plan to evaluate the tax breaks with looming deficits.  What they should do is make steep cuts to those tax breaks across the board in the special session the Governor will call in June.  Require business to justify what tax breaks are left and in the future the legislature should work on the assumption that if a business needs tax breaks to operate, then the business is not viable nor is it properly managed.

The legislature has insulted the state and its people long enough by not having a plan in effect to judge if the $8 billion in tax breaks are justified.  The legislature has to act now.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio