Category: Uncategorized

Published: February 26, 2025

By: Morgan Carter and Madeline Waltman, LSU Manship School News Service

Louisiana’s reliance on federal funds for half of the state budget leaves it vulnerable as President Donald Trump and congressional leaders push for substantial cuts in federal spending.

Federal funds provided $21.4 billion, or 50.8%, of the $42.1 billion Louisiana state budget in fiscal 2024. Louisiana is usually ranked within the top five states with the greatest percentage of their budgets coming from federal funding, and residents who depend on Medicaid for health insurance or on food stamps could be particularly vulnerable.

Read more at Acadiana’s NewsChannel.

Published: November 26, 2024

By: Ella Ray, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE – It’s not often that Louisiana leads the country in any category. But for several years, the state has gone above and beyond in one category: sales tax. 

Friday marked the end of a special tax session in the Legislature, which cut income taxes and raised average sales taxes to 10.11% when state and local sales taxes are combined.          

Before the session, Louisiana’s average combined state and local sales tax was 9.56%, and the highest in the state was 11.45%, depending on local taxes. The highest possible rate now is 12%.

Read more at Lafourche Gazette.

Published: November 26, 2024

By: Ella Ray, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE – It’s not often that Louisiana leads the country in any category. But for several years, the state has gone above and beyond in one category: sales tax.

Friday marked the end of a special tax session in the Legislature, which cut income taxes and raised average sales taxes to 10.11% when state and local sales taxes are combined.

Before the session, Louisiana’s average combined state and local sales tax was 9.56%, and the highest in the state was 11.45%, depending on local taxes. The highest possible rate now is 12%.

Read more at KATC.

Published: Novemeber 25, 2024

By:  Quinn Marceaux and Grace Thompson, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE, LA — Republican Gov. Jeff Landry got the Louisiana Legislature to back his bet of lowering individual and corporate income taxes to stimulate growth in the state.

The Legislature adopted a 3% flat tax for individuals, trimmed corporate taxes and will make up some of the lost revenue by temporarily extending and increasing to 5% the state sales tax. Louisiana will now have the highest combined local and state sales tax in the nation at 10.6%.

The tax package, passed Friday with the required two-thirds votes in both chambers, received bipartisan support by aligning Louisiana’s taxes with successful neighboring states. The bills now go to the governor for his signature. The action Friday closed a special session of the Legislature that opened on Nov. 6.

Read more at WWNO.

Published: November 22, 2024

By: Quinn Marceaux and Grace Thompson, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — Republican Gov. Jeff Landry got the Louisiana Legislature to back his bet of lowering individual and corporate income taxes to stimulate growth in the state. 

The Legislature adopted a 3% flat tax for individuals, trimmed corporate taxes and will make up some of the lost revenue by temporarily extending and increasing to 5% the state sales tax. Louisiana will now have the highest combined local and state sales tax in the nation at 10.6%.

Read more at St. Mary Now.

Published: November 20, 2024

By: Avery Sams, Ella Ray and Grace Thompson LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — Some tax cuts adopted by the state House of Representatives last week were undone by a Senate committee on Tuesday when it took up major elements of the governor’s tax proposals.

The Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee backed away from abolishing tax credits for historic preservation of buildings and production of movies and TV shows. The committee also rolled back a corporate income tax cut from a 3.5 percent tax rate adopted by the House to a 6 percent rate, not as generous as the House, but still lower than the existing top rate of 7.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the House has not moved forward with Gov. Jeff Landry’s original plan to pay for income tax cuts partly by creating sales taxes on more than 41 services like car washes.

Read more at The Daily Star.

Published: November 15, 2024

By: Quinn Marceaux, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE – Gov. Jeff Landry’s ambitious tax plan, which had previously encountered minimal resistance, hit its first bump on Thursday as lawmakers balked at applying sales taxes to more goods and services that are tax-free now.

Lawmakers said Landry was unable to secure the 70 votes from the House of Representatives needed to pass a sales tax expansion that would tax more than 40 currently untaxed services, so the House delayed voting on it.

The bill, House Bill 9, would generate $500 million to partially offset the estimated $1.3 billion shortfall from cutting individual income taxes to a flat 3% tax.

Read more at WBRZ2.

Published: November 14, 2024

By: Avery Sams, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE–The House continued Wednesday to revamp the state tax system, passing bills to cut business tax rates, eliminate credits for movie-making and historic preservation and, for the first time, tax personal use digital music, video games, audiobooks and movies. 

If the Senate agrees with the proposals, the corporate income tax rate would fall from a graduated system to a flat rate of 5.5% and then to 3.5% after 2026.

Read more at WRKF.

Published: November 11, 2024

By: Gracelyn Farrar, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE-The House Ways and Means Committee took steps Sunday toward achieving the governor’s tax overhaul by advancing a bill to cut the corporate income tax rate, now one of the highest in the nation, in stages from 7.5% to 3.5%.

The full House voted 69-6 to send the plan to the House Appropriations Committee for further consideration.

Also on Sunday, the Ways and Means Committee voted to allow parishes to eliminate the business inventory tax.

Read more at WWNO.

Published: November 8, 2024

By: Quinn Marceaux, Gracelyn Farrar and Ella Ray, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE—A House tax committee voted Thursday to advance Gov. Jeff Landry’s proposal for a flat 3% personal income tax rate.

If approved by the full House and Senate, the plan would eliminate the current income tax brackets and move the state closer to Landry’s ultimate goal of eliminating the income tax.

Thursday’s vote by the House Ways and Means Committee marked the first step in passing what is seen as Landry’s flagship portion of the tax plan introduced during his Wednesday speech at a special session of the Legislature.

“This is an income tax cut for everyone in Louisiana,” said Rep. Julie Emerson, R-Carencro, who chairs the committee. “The overall goal is to stimulate the economy and broaden our tax base. We want to show the people we are lowering their personal income tax rates, just like other states where they are thriving.”

Read more at WKRF.