re: LA state sales tax raised to 5%

A stipend for teachers permanent but not a raise

Guess I need to read up a little more on this. Seniors on SS income only typically don't have state taxes taken out. Therefore the 3% across the board is a non-issue, however they like everyone else they will pay the added 1% sales tax.

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An extra $5.50

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Not above what you were already paying in taxes. The tax went up 0.55 points from 4.45% to 5%.

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A stipend for teachers permanent but not a raise

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I think they called it a stipend because local schools districts set the salaries of teachers and they are paid through the district even the stipend.

The state doesn’t cut them a check. I think this is one that has to go before voters in March.


As far as taxes, I would have just unraveled a piece of Stelly and put taxes back on groceries and other recent exemptions. It would make calculating sales taxes easier. Currently you pay just local taxes on groceries, state taxes kick in if the food is considered consumable like hot foods. So that is why you have 2 taxes listed on your receipts. Putting the tax back on groceries would fold those items back into one tax rate.

But to illustrate absurdity, how about a clean penny sales tax idea, 1% sales tax on every sales transaction on every good and service no matter the state of production, except residential real estate. No exemptions.

Falco:
It replaces a stipend with a permanent amount IF voters approve a constitutional amendment on March 29

The rest of the plan goes into effect January 1.

The four parts contingent on constitutional amendment:

1) Authorizing locals to optionally exempt all or part of business inventory property tax in exchange for a one-time payment from the state surplus of 3x annual inventory collections (capped at $15m per parish) plus recurring payments of ~25% of the amount. Trying to buy but not force better local behavior was all that was politically possible.

2) The Dave Ramsey plan on teacher raise. Take $2 billion from a state education trust fund earning 3.3% and pay off teacher pension debt running at 8%.
That allows the local savings on the pension costs to go to required teacher pay raise (replacing the state one-time stipend of $2,000 per year and stopping a fight on how to keep paying for that).

The savings to the state on university employee pension contributions run $10m more than what that fund was earning—so that solves budget impact of lost fund earnings.

3) doubling the standard deduction where u pay no state income tax for persons over 65 to $25k per person ($50k per couple) (social security and govt pension remains fully exempt)

4) Do something called a ‘government growth limit’ on recurring spending to not allow it to go above an inflation factor. This was freedom caucus demand…not bad idea but this one is prob NBD in practice because can avoid w/ 2/3 vote... It’s probably leverage for folks against spending, but time will tell whether it’s a meaningful limit

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“This is the way we grow; this is the way people come here, this is the way people live a more flourishing life,”

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so they had to raise the revenue somewhere.

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Taxes aren’t “revenue”. The government isn’t a business nor is it entitled to money. Taxes are fees forced upon the citizenry.

But some limp-wristed figs realized they couldn’t sell the idea of forced fees so they called it “revenue” to condition the people.

And no, the government doesn’t HAVE to raise taxes. If anything, the government HAS to cut spending.

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Louisiana is not really a conservative state.

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100%. A large percentage of our GOP isn't even conservative when you consider most of the boomers here voted for Carter, Clinton, Breaux, Edwin Edwards, John Bel, and Landrieu.

Louisiana was actually a "swing state" before the Democrats fully embraced abortion.

That's ignorant about this tax cut.

Dog Tree:
All your points about reforming state government are correct

It is fair to say that what we get for our taxes in Louisiana needs to dramatically improve

It is objectively not accurate that this will take more tax money overall or more from individuals

It is an overall tax reduction of ~$500 million from where we are today

For individuals: it is a $1.2 billion income tax cut

The extra 0.55 sales tax rate that was put on is $660 million— and some of that is paid by businesses or tourists not LA taxpayers (~ 40%)

For business, even though the rate went down from 7.5 to 5.5 the collections actually slightly go up because they limited or ended a bunch of giveaway programs. Also kept 2% tax on business utilities for $250m.