Fiscal and Tax Policies - Louisiana State Budget

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Better Louisiana believes state leaders should make budget decisions that put the state on a sound fiscal footing, supported by a tax structure that creates a fair, simple, and competitive tax environment for individuals and businesses. This should include a constitution that gives lawmakers and local officials the flexibility to make fiscal and tax decisions without the need for repeated constitutional amendments.

Our Recommendations:

Resist using one-time revenues for recurring expenses.
Maintain appropriate balances in the “Rainy Day” Fund or other state savings accounts to protect vital services in the event of economic downturns.
Eliminate pet project earmarks and increase local match requirements for capital outlay funding in order to focus on the state’s broader needs, such as backlogs of deferred maintenance on college campuses, roadwork and other infrastructure.
Eliminate many of the state’s hundreds of revenue dedications and limit the number of funds in the constitution.
Reform the state pension systems to reduce the risk of growing unfunded liabilities by adopting a hybrid system for new employees, changing cost-of-living methodology, and using more conservative investment assumptions.
Centralize and simplify sales tax collections, offering a modernized and uniform system of sales tax administration and auditing.
Reduce the number of sales tax exemptions and remove most state tax exemptions from the constitution
Require a two-thirds vote to change, remove, or create new exemptions.
Reduce the sales tax rate by expanding the tax base to include some services.
Give local governments more flexibility for their revenue base.
Lower state tax rates in exchange for raising local property tax revenue and decreasing state spending to local governments.
Remove most state tax exemptions from the constitution and require a two-thirds vote to change, remove, or create new exemptions.
Limit the Louisiana Constitution to general principles, providing a basic framework for the scope and operation of government and leaving most details involving taxes, funds and other policies to statutory law.