A bill that if passed would eventually eliminate personal and corporate income tax in Louisiana is up for a full debate in the state Senate this afternoon, carrying with it a lengthy list of other complex tax issues that likely won’t be tackled before the Legislature wraps up.
The Times-Picayune reports that state Sen. Rob Marionneaux has faced strategic political moves by his colleagues to defer the bill since he first introduced Senate Bill 259, which would completely phase out income taxes in the state by 2023.
To make up for the revenue the state would lose by eliminating the state income tax, the Livonia Democrat has proposed ridding the state’s tax code of the countless controversial tax breaks already in place:
Marionneaux said one of his options will include reducing or eliminating specific tax breaks from 2013-2015 to correspond with the income tax cut, estimated to be $133 million the first year and about $1.7 billion by year three. “That would give a future Legislature and a future administration the choice of how to proceed,” Marionneaux said.
At the other end of the spectrum, the senator said, is a more across-the-board approach, slicing virtually all of the existing exemptions, deductions, credits and rebates until they are eliminated. Those policies amount to more than $7 billion in lost revenue annually, though that number includes all the income tax breaks that would become moot under a phaseout.
In an accompanying editorial published today, The Times-Pic’s Stephanie Grace says although exploring the numerous tax breaks on the books is a positive move, it’s a bad time to have “serious” discussions on how to do so.
Aside from the loads of lobbies that would emerge during such debate, also at issue is Gov. Bobby Jindal, who doesn’t support a repeal of income taxes that ideologically would seem to fit his strong anti-tax sentiment:
Much of Marionneaux’s support stems not so much from a desire to start that serious discussion just as the session is entering its frantic last weeks, but from political mischief aimed at Gov. Bobby Jindal, who opposes the idea but clearly doesn’t want to become the face of opposition to a giant tax cut.
If Jindal finds his position uncomfortable, it’s at least partly his own fault.
Staring at a $1.6 billion shortfall before the session, lawmakers from across the spectrum hoped to find some potential revenue hidden away in the [tax] exemption roster. But Jindal, who said he wouldn’t support any tax increase at all, stopped that discussion cold by lumping elimination of exemptions into the same category as tax increases.
It’s too late to reverse course this session, but that doesn’t mean the conversation should end ... This is an area that’s due for some good old-fashioned studying — by politicians looking to solve problems rather than make stands.
Read more on Marionneaux’s bill here and here.
JUNE 17 If anyone ever wonders why Saints fans hate Atlanta with a capital H, here's a good indication. Radio "professionals" at an Atlanta station created an entire segment around making fun of former Saints player Steve Gleason, who is now paralyzed by ALS. Listen, nobody's ever accused DJs of being rocket scientists. But how could someone think it is amusing to pretend to ask a man with a degenerative, fatal disease if he will be alive next week? The DJs have been fired, and are now whining about how gutless their former bosses are. Wow.
JUNE 18 Here's the latest from the Advocate on the fatal hit-and-run accident allegedly involving the president of the Livingston Parish School Board. He's accused by police of hitting a 21-year-old man on a highway early Sunday and driving away. The man died at a hospital later. On Monday, police seized the president's truck and towed it away. But he's available for board meetings: apparently a $500 bond is sufficient for this type of thing over in St. Helena Parish.
JUNE 18 Former broadcast journalist Griffin Scott has posted this plea on his blog for financial assistance from his readers. Scott, who says he was fired after he wrote something fairly innocuous (for Facebook) on his wall, is suing a media giant for his job back. He's framed himself as David going after a bloated media giant, and he's probably not far off.
JUNE 18 Here's a fairly absurd column posted on DIG Magazine about the completely absurd practice of naming killer storms. Tornadoes don't have names. Blizzards don't have names. But hurricanes do, and there's a big process to bestow them, Jacques Cormery writes. He's right about the crazy assemblage of names -- this year, there's everything from Tanya to Humberto -- and his idea that we don't waste good names on killer storms is a good one.
JUNE 17 Political columnist John Maginnis has some advice for Louisiana Republicans: grow up. After the schism that occurred in this past session - fiscal hawks teaming up with Democrats to spank the Republican "majority" and hand Gov. Jindal his, er, aspirations for continued solon control -- they need to figure out how to get along with each other, Maginnis writes.
JUNE 17 Here's the Picayune's obit story for Dorothy 'Miss Dot' Domilise, the lady who made poboys at the uptown restaurant that bears her name. Miss Dot moved to New Orleans during World War II, where she met and married her husband Sam. When she passed away Friday she was 90, and had spent more than 60 of those years working at the restaurant on Annunciation Street.
JUNE 17 This editorial in the Advocate speaks in favor of the consent decrees that have federal judges overseeing police operations and the sheriff's parish prison in New Orleans. Mayor Landrieu and Sheriff Gusman can't get along, so outside forces, like the Inspector General and the judges, are needed to make sure things run right, the editorial opines.
JUNE 18 Here's a post from Manny Schewitz on Forward Progressives that is good for a chuckle. Manny had an epiphany back in November, and is sharing it with us today: he believes that Fox "News" is killing the GOP by pandering to right wing nuts. Now, don't get it twisted: Manny's not broke up about it. He says he enjoys watching the downward spiral with a shot of whiskey and "a schadenfreude chaser."
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A wonderful idea. Exceptions (tax breaks) are the bane of tax code, State and Federal. One man's tax break is another's loop hole resulting in a tax rule mess. Start with those foolish sales tax holidays.