The House is set to try again today on passing tax proposals that will go towards closing a one-billion dollar budget deficit. A sales tax bill that would generate 300-million dollars anually was soundly defeated on Wednesday, but House Speaker Taylor Barras says that measure is still a critical part of addressing the fiscal cliff.
Lawmakers are running out of time as the special session to pass revenue generating measures must end Wednesday night. Barras says we’ll know after today on whether this special session will be successful.
If the legislature can not pass any bills to replace a billion dollars in sales taxes that are set to expire on June 30th, significant cuts would be needed to balance the budget. Barras remains optimistic.