Gov. Bobby Jindal calls for elimination of all Louisiana income and corporate taxes

Gov. Bobby Jindal is proposing to eliminate Louisiana's income and corporate taxes and pay for those cuts with increased sales taxes, the governor's office confirmed Thursday. The governor's office has not yet provided the details of the plan. "The bottom line is that for too long, Louisiana's workers and small businesses have suffered from having a state tax structure that is too complex and that holds back economic prosperity," Jindal said in a statement released by his office. "It's time to change that so people can keep more of their own money and foster an environment where businesses want to invest and create good-paying jobs." Jindal said the plan would be revenue-neutral and that the goal would be to keep sales taxes "as low and flat as possible." The governor's office has not yet confirmed or denied an article in The Monroe News-Star that reports eliminating the state income tax could require increasing the state sales tax from 4 percent to 7 percent. The governor's full statement on the tax overhaul plan: "We are meeting with every legislator over the coming weeks to discuss the details of the tax reform plan. Our goal is to eliminate all personal income tax and all corporate income tax in a revenue neutral manner. We want to keep the sales tax as low and flat as possible. "Eliminating personal income taxes will put more money back into the pockets of Louisiana families and will change a complex tax code into a more simple system that will make Louisiana more attractive to companies who want to invest here and create jobs. "Tax reform will remove administrative burdens from families and small businesses and improve Louisiana's business prospects; create more business investment opportunities with increased job growth; and raise the state's profile in national business rankings. "The bottom line is that for too long, Louisiana's workers and small businesses have suffered from having a state tax structure that is too complex and that holds back economic prosperity. It's time to change that so people can keep more of their own money and foster an environment where businesses want to invest and create good-paying jobs."

http%3A//www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/01/gov_bobby_jindal_calls_for_eli.html%23incart_river_default

We have states all around us without state income taxes, so he has a point.
Louisiana's tax on oil leaving the state has been its primary financing for more than 50 years.
Sure, let the little guy pay. There's a surprise here?
This is going to get interesting if the feds eliminate the deduction of state and local taxes. It's going to get harder and harder for the blue states to keep their income taxes so high. Ugly
Louisiana has endured years of brain-drain and businesses relocating to Texas for many years, so this move is not surprising. The New Orleans-Houston migration went on for years before Katrina as many people left for Houston to seek better job opportunities.
Buf Texas has high property tax and in Louisiana the property tax is negligible.
Anon
This is nothing but a bait-and-switch.
Of course sales tax increase hurt who the most? (the less income/poorer you are...)
charlie
Some of us don't have an income tax or a sales tax. And we're booming.
New%20Hampshire%20
Most sales tax excludes food, so "the poor" are only punished when they buy Air Jordan's. It's a stupidity tax, like the lottery.
Louisiana is one of those states that gets back more in Fed aid then they send in taxes. They are sucking at the teat of Blue States.
http%3A//www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/02/louisiana_takes_more_in_aid_th.html
I don't have a problem with this at all. A consumption tax is beyond fair.
[quote]A consumption tax is beyond fair Right on the money. It is not just beyond fair, it is not even in the same neighborhood.
Meanwhile all the posters complaining about the LA sales tax live in blue states with astronomical sales tax rates. Oh the irony!
Alanis
So what do we think of big hearted Bobby's plan to deny hospice care to Medicaid patients? He announced that one right before Christmas, maybe hoping no-one would notice.
The%20ghost%20of%20Christmas%20past
And the LA schools will get even worse.
r8 increased sales tax hurt wealthier people more than poor folk since they buy more high-priced items.
[quote] increased sales tax hurt wealthier people more than poor folk since they buy more high-priced items. It doesn't "hurt" the wealthier people at all. If they can afford those high ticket items then they can afford the sales tax on not only those purchases but ALL purchases.
Why should federal government give them money when they refuse to 'benefit' or take advantage from local tax opportunities? Cut them off, cut them off NOW!
r15, the poor can die at home "surrounded by their loving family," as it will say in the obit.
He rocks. He should be president. But you 'mos and blacks are too racist to vote for him.
You lost, R21.
OR they could simplify the tax structure. As a former LA business owner I agree that the tax structure is far too complex. You cannot do you taxes without an attorney, so simplify it.
Simplify it all you want, but keep it progressive.
r17: NO sales tax "hurts" the WEALTHY, you ignoramus.
[quote]He rocks. He should be president. If the Republican Party thought that, he would have been Romney's choice for running mate.
R9, what is New Hampshire doing to be booming?
Bobby Jindal has been planning to be the first Indian-American president for...forever. This past year shows that he will say ANYthing to get on the side of the voter Zeitgeist. Be aware of the "hitching a ride on the crocodile" fable.
New Orleans has an astronomical sales tax already on top of the state tax. This is designed to hurt south Louisiana and get Piyush votes up in the north.
Can't the South just secede already?
I've traveled extensively in Lousiana and that state has some of the stupidest fucking people in the entire country, and that's saying something. Everyone I met in Baton Rouge was a simple-minded Republican idiot, even the gay guys.
r12/13 Why is a Consumption Tax unfair? The more you buy, the more you pay.
R32: It is unfair because if you scrape by paycheck to paycheck, you are buying only what you have to buy, essentials -- tires and gas for the car, clothes, school supplies, and the sales tax makes a difference in how much money you have to live on. If you are wealthy, a sales tax means nothing. It has nothing to do with making the rent or a mortgage payment. You think a wealthy person is going to worry about sales tax on a sweater or a yacht, either one?
Think of it this way. Because poor people are buying only what they can afford, the sales tax takes a much bigger percentage of their income. If you can buy anything you want, the sales tax is a very low percentage of your income. That's why a sales tax is regressive. What Jindal is doing is making life easier for corporations and their owners and worse for working people -- shifting the tax burden. This is a race to the bottom all over the country. States are competing to see how much they can cut social services and reduce wages to benefit corporations. That is why Michigan became a right to work state -- break unions to bring wages down so they can compete with Indiana in helping corporations boost their bottom lines. Lower wages or lower tax burdens, the corporations win.
[quote]You think a wealthy person is going to worry about sales tax on a sweater or a yacht, either one? Oh they worry about that. They worry about that big time.
http%3A//www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/20/california-gop-torpedos-b_n_87707.html
R35: I should have made that clearer. The wealthy want to steal anything that is not nailed down, including responsibility to pay sales tax. The more they have to pay for anything that benefits someone else, the more they resent it, and the more they want to get out of it. That's why they are trying to gut social services by slashing medical care for poor people and turning public schools into charter schools that charge tuition. It lowers their tax burden, and they don't use those public services in any case. They can also make a big buck for charging for what used to be public services. You think Louisiana is turning public schools into charter schools because they want to give poor kids a break? Education to work in WalMart will be free. If you want something more than being able to read and write, pay tuition to Bill Gates and Penny Pritzker. So it is win/win if you live off investments. Sucks if you don't. So, sure they do not want to pay sales tax. The point is that they can easily pay sales tax. For poor people who struggle to pay for necessities, the sales tax is a real burden.
Jindal is becoming an attention whore.
R36 I agree with you. Sales tax impacts the poor and lower income people far more than it does the very rich. But despite how little sales tax may be for someone like them, if they can get out of paying it, they will. For what its worth, here is a little story. A few years ago I dated a guy who worked at a high-end luggage store in Manhattan. One day a VERY FAMOUS woman came in and dropped a pretty decent amount on a luggage set. After successfully haggling over the price, she then announced that she had no intention of paying sales tax. She never paid sales tax and she never paid retail she declared, and she was not about to start now. The store accommodated her on this demand. When I remarked that it was unfair, she could more than afford it, he told me this was quite common. The rich and famous expect special treatment and stores like his were more than happy to cater to their demands because they passed the expense onto the other, less stellar customers.
Only little people pay taxes. -- Leona Helmsley