re: Gov. John Bel Edwards wants big changes in how LA biz, individuals taxed

I don't get the opposition from conservatives regarding these tax changes. Consumption taxes are often advocated by conservative think tanks as an alternative to income taxes. And this GRT is being implemented in places like Texas that are considered very business friendly. Overall, this tax plan could pass as the work of a conservative.

not right to call this a consumption tax when it applies to sales at all points in the supply chain

Not conservatives, but the Republican business lobby types. Here is the thing, and Louisiana is a prime example. If consumption taxes are the solution, then Louisiana should be in high cotton .....even before Edwards' tax increases which were primarily on the sales tax end....and even before when the state overall had one of the highest sales tax burdens in the country. Louisiana still had a budget shortfall. It had budget shortfalls in the 1980's and 1990's even with high sales taxes....and overall one of the lowest effective income tax rates of any state in the country .

We base so much of the state's revenue on oil and gas....we keep getting burned by it when the price of a barrel craters....we all complain when the state tries to find more revenue beyond that. WE complain that the legislators are stupid for pegging the budget to a certain price on a barrel of oil....but when they go for a more stabilized process like the Stelly Plan was , well we complain about that too.

It's not that we don't want to pay any more in taxes..... overall we don't want to pay ANY taxes and that would be OK if the big businesses would pay taxes instead or we could put high tariffs on imported things....but then we actually believe the said big businesses when they say taxes are too high and that if only we would give them free access roads and 10 year breaks on income(tax credits) and reduced property taxes that all of our problems would be resolved.....then we do that for them, and the problems are not resolved, there is not a traffic jam of good paying industries trying to come to the state.

You are all wrong.

If they raise taxes on businesses we will all pay. Who do you think are the consumers? We are.

Then you keep mentioning property taxes, and the homestead exemption even though the state does not collect any property taxes,

Plus you are the one that brought up Texas and their tax code. You can't tell me that we need to be like Texas and institute a consumption tax, but say we don't need to be like Texas and not have an income tax, and calm that conservative.

I realize the money for state services has to come from somewhere, and that somewhere has been my pocket. And to repeatedly come here and say we need more tax revenue each year while we hardly cut spending is not going to fly with me.

People in EBR parish would disagree, we have repeatedly voted for higher property taxes for schools, parks, libraries, old folks, and buses.

Personally I'd like a homestead exemption reform as well as closer scrutiny of assessor.

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People in EBR parish

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There is your problem right there. you have a bunch of people who do not pay into the system....but do own homes. I don't know how EBR assess the property for tax purposes, but if it is anything like how Chehardy in Jefferson used to do it, most people paid minimal amounts on their property taxes relative to what the appraised value was based on the market. I'm sure the people in Old Metairie would disagree with me on that one though.

I wonder what would happen to a politician who actually floated out the idea of amending the state constitution to change the homestead exemption from your first 75K to your 2nd 75K?

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I wonder what would happen to a politician who actually floated out the idea of amending the state constitution to change the homestead exemption from your first 75K to your 2nd 75K

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I've long said that if you own property you should pay something in the way of property tax for basic services like sewer, police, and garbage pick up.

I don't have the numbers, but let everyone pay on the first 25K, 50K or whatever, and then exempt the next 75K; I'm all in for that. Too many have no skin in the game and pay nothing for that reason and keep voting for higher property taxes.

Like you said it will never pass, but we can type about it.

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quote: Many of the services that the governor wants to make subject to sales taxes — including cable TV and internet service — are already taxed in neighboring Texas. Nice spin zone We don't have state income tax, which is why these are taxed. Also why we have higher property taxes.

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I agree entirely. The Texas system is so much more effective. They actually take pride in their local governments and school districts ability to operate efficiently and save the taxpayer's money.

Their system of higher user fees also helps the "non users" to enjoy lower taxation and more freedoms.

By have no state income taxes but higher property taxes Texas attracts wealthier individuals and business that don't mind paying higher property taxes because it saves them so much more in income taxes.

The Texas system is so much more intelligent than Louisiana's. I think many of the businesses that were referred to as not paying state income taxes may leave if Edwards has his way.

Socialism never works.

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The GRT would be somewhere between 0.25% and 1%. Some companies would pay more than they currently do, some companies would pay less. It's a broad tax base with low rates rather than a narrow tax base with higher rates. Overall, corporate collections could be up or down depending on the percentage.

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Say the tax is 1%. Say the grocery store you frequent has to pay 1% of their revenues after 150K. Do you think that 1% will come from their profits, or will that 1% be added to the cost of doing business and then passed on to their consumers (you)? I think they'll pass the cost on to you. It will be like a hidden sales tax.

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Yes, I'm aware that it's a local tax and not a state tax. I'm just saying that the taxes to fund shite has to come from somewhere

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The OP started a thread about state taxes. The discussion is how do we pay for state services, and after one large tax increase do we want another or do we want the state to cut the budget. Property taxes play no role in that.

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I support having zero personal income taxes, too. I'm not being inconsistent here. I'm just saying that the proposed changes to the corporate tax structure bring us closer to business-friendly Texas's corporate tax structure

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Adding a tax that Texas has, to raise revenue and not cutting out taxes doesn't compute. If you want to mimic Texas, that's fine by me; however, don't tell me we are mimicking Texas and just adding one of their taxes.

As for being business friendly, how does adding a new tax that businesses will have to collect for the state attract new businesses? Maybe a C Corp would prefer this method, but how about all the partnerships, S Corps, and privately owned businesses that just pay taxes on their ordinary income? How will it help them? It won't.

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I'm sure you will argue with me on this, but the overall tax burden in Louisiana isn't that bad. We just have shitty government with a lot of fat that needs to be cut. Cutting money from the government does not always remove fat. It removes muscle too. We need to address budget restrictions, torts, etc. more than anything else.

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The overall burden isn't bad, but the government spending is. Per capita, I believe La. spends a lot of money that other states do not spend. It's complicated I know, but La. isn't a rich state. As a whole our state is relatively poor. We shouldn't pay as much in taxes as a tax payer of a prosperous state does because as a people, we don't have the money.

Now our politicians don't believe that, they believe they need our money but the truth is they take too much of it and spend it on the friends and not on basic services.

The problem with Republicans in Louisiana is that they want everything to be free and they want a check on top. They want good roads, bridges that don't fall down, subsidies for oil and gas activities and refunds of all taxes.

Guess what, guys, nothing is free. You can't run the state on credit cards and pawning off state property. Jindal did that for eight years and there is nothing left to pawn. Y'all need to grow up. Your mamas can't pay for you to live rent free in the house forever.