House Republicans are looking at renewing at least some or all of the temporary one cent sales tax as a way to address a looming one billion dollar shortfall. Houma Representative Tanner Mcgee.
But Governor John Bel Edwards says he will not support any plan that maintains the current sales tax rate which is currently five percent, one of the highest in the country. And Baton Rouge Representative Ted James says legislators promised to let the temporary sales tax penny expire when they voted for it in 2016.
Edwards and the Democratic caucus have made tax reform a centerpiece of their legislative agenda, and hope to shift the tax burden away from individuals by eliminating tax exemptions that specific industries currently enjoy. James says most of all though, sales taxes hit the working class hardest.
McGee says he supports renewing three quarters of the sales tax, and committing a quarter of those funds to TOPS. He says Louisiana’s sales tax is different from other states, in that it has a large pool of exemptions.