Two of the toughest proposals Gov. John Bel Edwards will have to convince legislators to accept at the fiscal session beginning April 10 deal with income taxes and a new commercial activities tax (CAT) on business. Today, we will take a closer look at his income tax idea.
Edwards wants to lower the current 2, 4 and 6 percent state income tax rates to 1, 3 and 5 percent. He said that would lower income taxes for 90 percent of taxpayers and only those making over $140,000 per year would pay higher taxes.
Joint filers currently pay 2 percent of their income up to $20,000, 4 percent on income from $20,000 to $100,000 and 6 percent on income over $100,000. Single filers pay taxes on half those amounts.
The governor’s biggest problem will be to convince all voters to give up their ability to deduct federal income taxes from their state income tax payments in return for the lower rates. Most voters don’t itemize, so they don’t benefit from the deduction anyway. A Lake Charles resident said a good selling point would be to allow citizens 65 and older who itemize to keep the deduction.
Edwards appeared reluctant to try his income tax proposal because of what happened to a similar change on last November’s ballot. Amendment No. 3 would have replaced five corporate income tax rates as high as 8 percent with a 6.5 percent flat rate for all corporate taxpayers. The amendment did not affect individuals and families filing state income tax returns, but all voters were eligible to vote on the amendment.
Surprisingly, the 67.8 percent of voters who cast ballots on Amendment 3 rejected it by a 56-44 percent margin, even though the vast majority of them weren’t affected. Some said voters didn’t understand the amendment.
A task force that studied the state budget and tax systems during all of 2016 included the income tax changes Edwards is proposing in their recommendations, but with slightly different rates.
The income tax is a growth tax, and a decision in 2008 to repeal higher income tax rates in the 2002 Stelly Plan has been blamed by economists for most of the state’s 16 mid-year budget shortfalls over the last nine years.
What lawmakers in 2008 failed to consider was that the Stelly Plan also ended state sales taxes on food purchased for home consumption, prescription drugs and residential utilities. It was a good swap.
In fiscal 2015-16, those exemptions cost the state $424 million on food sales, $359 million on drugs and $166 million on residential utilities. That is a total tax loss of $949 million, which is as much or more than citizens paid in those higher income taxes.
The task force also recommended that lawmakers limit the excess federal itemized deductions on state income tax forms to 50 percent. It said that would make it possible for taxpayers to still deduct their charitable giving and mortgage interest payments. The change doesn’t require voter approval.
A third task force recommendation says eliminate any new exemptions and credits that might be applied to the state income tax. However, taxpayers would still have (1) their standard and dependent deductions, (2) exclusion for active duty military pay, (3) exclusion of Social Security and retirement income for public employees, (4) deductions for child care and early childhood education, (5) credit for taxes paid to other states and (6) the earned income tax credit.
Edwards also wants to take another shot at ending the ability of corporations to deduct their federal taxes paid on their state income tax forms. He would replace the five rates of up to 8 percent with three rates of 3, 5 and 7 percent. The change would only take effect if the individual deductions were also eliminated.
The Advocate points out that what Edwards is proposing marks the biggest changes to the state’s tax system since voters during the Mike Foster administration approved the Stelly Plan that shifted the overall tax burden from sales taxes to income taxes.
The full excess federal itemized deductions were restored during the Kathleen Blanco administration, and the Stelly income tax rates were reduced during the Bobby Jindal administration.
Edwards said, “For far too long, the people of Louisiana have footed the bill for costly tax credits and exemptions while too many very profitable businesses don’t pay a penny of income taxes.”
In fiscal 2015-16, corporations paid $145 million in state taxes and received $1.4 billion in exemptions. However, industry and business spokesmen said they also pay local property, sales and inventory taxes and their employees pay individual state income taxes.
Business interests have come out swinging against the Edwards’ proposals that affect them, and they will definitely have their voices heard at the upcoming session. They will find conservative Republicans, particularly in the House, who will provide most of the opposition to the governor’s tax proposals.
The Council for a Better Louisiana said the governor has at least provided a starting point that will be thoroughly debated. It said there is no doubt that Louisiana sorely needs comprehensive, long-term fiscal reform.
Edwards may not have all the right answers, but legislators who reject his ideas owe the voters and taxpayers of this state better solutions. The state can no longer do business the same way it has for the last nine years.
Jim Beam, the retired editor of the American Press, has covered people and politics for more than five decades. Contact him at 337-515-8871 or jbeam@americanpress.com.
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