{"id":129292,"date":"2024-11-23T20:49:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-23T13:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=129292"},"modified":"2024-11-23T20:49:00","modified_gmt":"2024-11-23T13:49:00","slug":"louisiana-lawmakers-pass-income-and-corporate-tax-cuts-raising-statewide-sales-tax-to-pay-for-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=129292","title":{"rendered":"Louisiana lawmakers pass income and corporate tax cuts, raising statewide sales tax to pay for it"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) \u2014 Louisiana\u2019s GOP-dominated legislature passed tax cuts on personal and corporate income on Friday in exchange for a statewide sales tax increase, giving Gov. Jeff Landry much of what he wanted after his original tax reform package faced <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/louisiana-legislature-session-tax-reform-landry-session-696e6cebf05c85ff5bc5eef39a12811b\">mounting resistance<\/a><\/span> from lawmakers and lobbyists. <\/p>\n<p>The final passage of the tax measures wrapped up a special legislative session launched Nov. 6 by the governor and his allies. They said their purpose was to make the state\u2019s tax code more business friendly, create jobs and reverse trends of outward migration from the state. It was the <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/louisiana-special-session-tax-ba4d9b6db2bd05784b6d29931bd37975\">third special legislative session<\/a><\/span> called by Landry, a Republican, since he assumed office in January.<\/p>\n<p>Critics warned the tax reforms would primarily benefit corporate shareholders and wealthy taxpayers while the sales tax increase would exacerbate Louisiana\u2019s regressive tax system where poorer households pay a higher percentage of their income on taxes.<\/p>\n<p>Landry called the tax reforms \u201chistoric\u201d and said that they allowed all Louisianans to keep more money in their pockets and would spur business investment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday we have made generational change in this state,\u201d Landry said. \u201cWe now stand at the threshold of a new era for Louisiana.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>A flat 3% income tax<\/h2>\n<p>Lawmakers approved a flat 3% individual income tax rate, leading to a $1.3 billion cut.<\/p>\n<p>Previously, the personal income tax rate had stood at 4.25% for people earning $50,000 or more.<\/p>\n<p>Louisiana Republicans said the measure advanced their goal of ultimately eliminating the income tax in the future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIncome tax is a mandate; you have to pay it. You get punished for making more money,\u201d said Republican Rep. Julie Emerson, who spearheaded the legislation. <\/p>\n<p>She argued consumption-based taxes were fairer: \u201cSales tax is a choice,\u201d Emerson said. <\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers also noted that other Southern states like <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/tax-cuts-arkansas-huckabee-sanders-legislature-5a21f0fc80ce40ece749b2030c5172c2\">Arkansas<\/a><\/span>, <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/business-tate-reeves-mississippi-bc78903b9d20d78638a963efcafd9d03\">Mississippi<\/a><\/span> and <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/north-carolina-senate-state-budget-b7ae07b552a495e9a676a2642a702388\">North Carolina<\/a><\/span> have recently reduced their income taxes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re on the same trajectory as other states around us to be competitive,\u201d Republican Sen. Franklin Foil said. <\/p>\n<p>As part of the legislative package, lawmakers doubled the standard deduction for seniors and nearly tripled the standard deduction for individuals, effectively eliminating income tax on the lowest income households. <\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers also redirected $280 million in vehicle sales tax funds from several major infrastructure projects for the next two years in order to help offset the income tax cut.<\/p>\n<h2>Corporate tax cuts<\/h2>\n<p>The state\u2019s new corporate income tax rate will be a flat 5.5%, reducing the highest tier from 7.5%. Landry had wanted a 3.5% flat rate.<\/p>\n<p>Louisiana\u2019s corporate income tax rate had been the highest in the South according to the Tax Foundation, a conservative think tank.<\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers repealed the 0.275% corporate franchise tax, a levy on businesses operating on the state worth more than $500 million in annual revenue that went to a state savings account. Republican lawmakers had decried the tax as an arbitrary penalty on business.<\/p>\n<p>Landry and other Republican lawmakers had touted these tax cuts as crucial to removing obstacles to attract job-generating companies to the state and to improve Louisiana\u2019s place on Tax Foundation\u2019s rankings for business climate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLouisiana just became a much more attractive place to do business,\u201d Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois said.<\/p>\n<h2>Sales tax hike<\/h2>\n<p>With the personal income tax reductions reducing annual revenue by $1.3 billion, Landry\u2019s original plan had called for applying sales taxes to dozens of services like car-washing, dog-grooming and lobbying. He also sought to eliminate large tax incentives for the restoration of historic buildings and the film industry.<\/p>\n<p>Those proposals were defeated \u2014 except for a new sales tax on digital goods and services \u2014 following stiff opposition from Republicans and special interest groups, leading to a bigger sales tax hike than Landry initially proposed. <\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers raised the state sales tax to 5%, equivalent to an increase of one cent on every dollar spent. In 2030, the state sales tax will be reduced to 4.75%. <\/p>\n<p>The state\u2019s current sales tax stood at 4%, along with a temporary 0.45% sales tax that had been set to expire next year.<\/p>\n<p>Louisiana already had the highest combined state and average local sales tax in the country at 9.56%, according to the Tax Foundation. <\/p>\n<p>Louisiana has the <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/itep.org\/whopays\/louisiana-who-pays-7th-edition\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">10th most regressive tax system<\/a><\/span> in the country, according to the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.<\/p>\n<p>Jan Moller, executive director of the liberal think tank Invest in Louisiana, said the sales tax hike and other changes take the state \u201cin the wrong direction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it will ensure that low- and moderate-income families continue to pay a higher effective tax rate in Louisiana than those at the very top,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Republican leaders said they did not believe the increased sales tax would cancel out the benefits of the income tax cut for lower- and middle-income families. <\/p>\n<p>Sen. Minority Leader Gerald Boudreaux said the Democratic Caucus had supported the bills \u2014 only one Democratic Senator dissented \u2014 in order to have a seat at the table in shaping the process, such as pushing to preserve the film industry tax credit. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of those changes represent what\u2019s best for the state, and they\u2019re now in a document \u2014 that was not previously there,\u201d Boudreaux said on the Senate floor. <\/p>\n<p>House Democrats were more fractured than their Senate counterparts, but many still voted in support of the overall tax package.<\/p>\n<h2>Constitutional changes<\/h2>\n<p>The tax reform package included a significant rewrite to a notoriously convoluted section of the state\u2019s constitution, Article 7. <\/p>\n<p>The amendment, which will go before voters on March 29, removes large amounts of tax exemptions from constitutional protection and intends to give lawmakers more latitude to end these exemptions in the future. <\/p>\n<p>The constitutional amendment also enables a permanent $2,000 raise for teachers, made possible by liquidating several education trust funds to pay off early nearly $2 billion in school district debt.<\/p>\n<p>And it inserts a \u201cgrowth limit\u201d on the amount of money lawmakers can direct to recurring expenses each year based on calculations of economic growth in the state \u2014 a measure proposed by conservative lawmakers.<\/p>\n<h2>___<\/h2>\n<p>Associated Press writer Kevin McGill contributed to this report. <\/p>\n<h2>___<\/h2>\n<p>Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press\/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reportforamerica.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Report for America<\/a><\/span> is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Brook on the social platform X: @jack_brook96<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>\n  window.fbAsyncInit = function() {\n      FB.init({\n              appId : '870613919693099',\n          xfbml : true,\n          version : 'v2.9'\n      });\n  };\n  (function(d, s, id){\n     var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n     if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;}\n     js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n     js.src = \"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\";\n     fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n   }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/louisiana-tax-reform-special-session-landry-95db6e608809dcdcfae5f5de8b0355d4\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) \u2014 Louisiana\u2019s GOP-dominated legislature passed tax cuts on personal and corporate income on Friday in exchange for a statewide sales tax increase, giving Gov. Jeff Landry &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=129292\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8629],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-u-s","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=129292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129292\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=129292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=129292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=129292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}