Today is the deadline for Governor John Bel Edwards to call a February special session to address the looming one billion dollar budget hole resulting in the expiration of sales taxes. The governor said he would not call the session without an agreement in principle on a fiscal cliff deal, but LAPoltics.com publisher Jeremy Alford says the governor is being pushed to call the session.
Because it’s a revenue issue, the fiscal cliff can only be addressed in a special session.
Reports indicate the house GOP caucus may be coming to consensus on a plan to address the budget gap. Alford says Republican leaders may propose renewing a one cent sales tax that’s set to expire June 30th.
But Alford says that could be a tough sell, as Democratic lawmakers oppose any renewal of the penny tax.
According to the Tax Foundation, Louisiana’s combined state and local sales tax rate is the highest in the country.