While the Landry administration’s original purpose was supposedly aimed at addressing the looming fiscal cliff facing the state budget, due to the expiration of a temporary sales tax, the scope of the session’s call clearly extends far beyond that, and according to experts on state budget policy, the proposed changes to Louisiana’s tax system would benefit the state’s wealthiest residents and corporations more than others while failing to raise enough revenue to avoid the fiscal cliff.
As a consumer advocate focused on representing the interests of utility ratepayers, The Alliance does not typically engage with legislators on state tax and budget issues. But there are some areas that do concern the state’s electrical system–such as changes to a state sales tax rebate program to subsidize data centers into a sales tax exemption program, which would likely cost the state more money, while also putting a greater strain on our grid and raising costs for everyone, as has been seen in states like Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey, and West Virginia, which are expecting up to 20% increases in the costs of electricity bills due to data center demands.
In summary – after failing to get a constitutional convention earlier this year, Governor Landry is now asking the state legislature to dramatically rewrite the state’s tax code in two weeks, in the hopes of putting constitutional amendments on the ballot in March of next year, all while not only failing to fix the state’s fiscal cliff, but almost certainly making it worse.
The Alliance will be working with its partners to educate Louisianans and our lawmakers on the potential consequences of these decisions–if these are of concern to you, you can find contact information for your legislators using this site.
