BCBL Tax Exemption Talking Points

Read the updated talking points. Please share with your members.

BCBL member cited in The New York Times!

BCBL coalition member, The Louisiana Budget Project, was cited in The New York Times article entitled, “Do Good C.E.O.’s Make Good Presidents?”

Here is an excerpt:

. . . But many critics, like Jan Moller, director of the Louisiana Budget Project, an advocacy group for the state’s poor, worries that cutting taxes and decreasing government spending will ensure that the affluent remain comfortable and the poor remain stuck. “The cuts-only approach has hurt Louisiana more than it’s helped,” he told me.

Read the full article and share this post on Facebook and Twitter.

Who Really Benefits from Tax Credits?

As the Revenue Study Commission turns its focus to individual income-tax exemptions, it’s a good time to look at how these tax breaks are distributed. While all income groups get some benefit from state income-tax credits, the largest share of the credits—by far—are claimed by a small sliver of very wealthy taxpayers.

Nearly 1.9 million Louisianans filed individual income-tax returns with the state in fiscal year 2011, claiming a total of $422.6 million in refundable and non-refundable credits. But 40 percent of these credits were claimed by 3,310 taxpayers who had adjusted incomes above $1 million, according to the Department of Revenue’s annual report.

Read the full article here.

Revenue Study Commission meeting tomorrow!

The Revenue Study Commission will meet tomorrow, Friday, October 12 at 1:30 in House Committee Room 6.

The commission will begin going through Individual Income Tax Expenditures, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The Agenda is attached.

The following came out last week:
47% of Louisiana citizens support raising revenue by eliminating tax exemptions, only 35% oppose it. (Source: Southern Media and Opinion)

BCBL is on the right track—Tax exemptions should be competitive, broad based, transparent, and a true cost benefit, or they should be modified or discontinued.

Statistic: Tax Exemptions

47% of Louisiana citizens support raising revenue by eliminating tax exemptions, only 35% oppose it. (Source: Southern Media and Opinion)

BCBL is on the right track!

“Tax Break or Tax Broken: Louisiana’s Tax Exemptions”

Each year, Louisiana grants more than $4 billion in tax refunds, credits, incentives, exclusions, and deductions to corporations and individuals. Some entities receive tax rebates even if they don’t have a tax liability. So, what is the return on investment of Louisiana’s tax breaks? How can they be better tracked? And should they be restricted to free up funding for state services such as healthcare and higher education? As the 14-member Revenue Study Commission begins its review of the state’s 468 tax exemptions, Louisiana Public Square explores the issue on “Tax Break or Tax Broken: Louisiana’s Tax Exemptions” tonight at 7 p.m. on LPB HD.

Panelists are:

-     Jason Decuir, Assistant Secretary, Louisiana Department of Revenue

-     Jan Moller, Director, Louisiana Budget Project

-     Stephen Moret, Secretary, Louisiana Economic Development

-     Rep. Joel Robideaux, R- Lafayette; Chairman, Revenue Study Commission

Robert Travis Scott, president of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, will guest moderate.

To comment on the show, take a survey on tax exemptions and view extended interview clips, visit www.lpb.org/publicsquare.

Revenue Study Commission Meeting

The Revenue Study Commission is meeting this Friday, Sept. 28, at 10:00 in House Committee Room 6 to continue going over the Sales Tax Expenditures. See agenda for more info.

The Revenue Study Commission will also meet Tuesday, October 2 at 1:00 in House Committee Room 6 to go over various exemptions.  See agenda for more info.

In addition, House Ways and Means/Senate Rev and Fiscal Affairs are meeting October 2 at 9:00 in House Committee Room 5 to consider and approve the rules for various rebate programs that were approved during the 2012 Regular Session.

Please continue to reach out to your legislators in requesting that tax exemptions be modified or discontinued unless they are competitive, broad-based, transparent and a cost benefit to the state.

New Audio-Visual Presentation by Louisiana Budget Project

The Louisiana Budget Project has released a new audio-visual presentation entitled “Tax Exemptions 101.” This presentation explores the pros and cons of Louisiana’s “hidden budget.” To submit an idea for a future presentation, leave a comment on LBP’s Facebook page.

Special Interest Tax Breaks Deserve Scrutiny

Racehorses, aircraft assembled in Louisiana (with seating capacity of 50 or more) and coin bullion—but only with a value of at least $1,000. What do these three things have in common?

All are exempt from Louisiana’s 4 percent state sales tax.

None of these tax breaks mean much in the grand scale of Louisiana’s $8.1 billion general fund budget. Instead, they illustrate the often arbitrary nature of the 468 exemptions, credits, deductions and other loopholes in Louisiana’s tax code…

Read the full article here.

BCBL Talking Points on Tax Exemptions 

YOUR VOICE MATTERS! Make your message clear and succinct so your message will be heard. BCBL has composed some talking points on tax exemptions for when you contact your legislators. 

 

Tax exemptions up for review in September

Familiarize yourself with the tax exemptions that are up for review during the September Revenue Study Commission meetings. Call your legislators on tax exemptions that need to be modified or eliminated.

Tax exemptions must be competitive, broad-based, transparent and a cost benefit for the state.

View the tax exemptions up for review here.

Revenue Study Commission website

Check the new Revenue Study Commission website for meeting info., commission forms and other updates!

 

BCBL Letter to Revenue Study Commission Members

August 21, 2012

Dear Revenue Study Commission Members:

The Better Choices for a Better Louisiana coalition is encouraged by the formation of the Revenue Study Commission, and looks forward to the long-overdue evaluation of the 468 different exclusions, exemptions, credits, refunds and other loopholes in Louisiana’s tax code. As the state faces another year of cuts to health care, higher education and other critical investments, there has never been a more important time to re-evaluate the $4.8 billion in annual tax expenditures, with an eye toward growing Louisiana’s eroding revenue base in an equitable manner.

As the committee does its work in the months ahead, it is likely to discover that some tax expenditures are working as intended, while others are antiquated and in need of reform or repeal.

For these evaluations to have true value to policymakers, they need to be based, as much as possible, on a set of objective criteria.  To that extent, we recommend that each tax exemption be judged on the following metrics:

1)       Is it broad-based? Tax breaks that are narrowly tailored to a specific interest group or that are claimed by a small number of beneficiaries should be viewed with more skepticism than exemptions that benefit a broad class of people. For example, the sales tax exclusion on raw agricultural products should be viewed differently than the exclusion for “specialty Mardi Gras items sold by certain organizations.” Similarly, some tax credits accrue almost exclusively to a small group of filers.

One example is the research & development tax credit, 94 percent of which was claimed by just five entities.

2)       Do neighboring states have similar exemptions? Tax breaks that are designed to keep Louisiana competitive with other Southern states might have more merit than tax code loopholes that are unique to Louisiana.

3)       Is it transparent? As the Public Affairs Research Council noted earlier this summer, hundreds of sales-tax exemptions are lumped together under a single category, “other exemptions,” leaving the public with no understanding of how much individual exemptions are costing Louisiana. Without such basic facts, neither the commission nor the public can make informed decisions about whether a tax break is performing adequately.

4)       What is the state’s return on investment? State law does not require agencies that administer tax credits to track their return on investment. But taxpayers deserve to know what types of jobs, if any, are being created as a result of specific tax credits, and whether the state is receiving any other benefits.

With these criteria in mind, we are hopeful that the work of the Revenue Study Commission will bring sunshine and accountability to this important policy area, and lay the groundwork for a tax system that allows Louisiana the essential revenue to meet its critical needs in health-care and education.

Sincerely,

Mary Williams

 

*View the .pdf version here.

Informational tools: tax exemption budget

Last month, the Revenue Study Commission met for the first time to discuss the 468 exemptions, credits and rebates. These rebates account for $4.8 billion of Louisiana’s “hidden” budget. Throughout the following months the group will begin to comb through the quite extensive tax exemption budget.

To help explain, the Louisiana Budget Project has released a one page primer and a PowerPoint presentation.

 

In the News: Film tax credits and tax exemptions

Read the Baton Rouge Business Report’s August  7, cover story “Follow the Money” on tax exemptions.

Articles discussing the film tax credit program have been published in several media outlets statewide:

• “La. Film Credit Bombs,” The Advertiser, August 7, 2012
• “Louisiana Film Tax Breaks Program Needs Limits,” Shreveport Times, August 7, 2012
• “Film Tax Credits Costs State Too Much, Report Says,” Times-Picayune, August 7, 2012
• “Film Tax Break Program Needs Limits,” Daily Comet, August 7, 2012

LBP report: Louisiana film tax credits

Louisiana spent $231 million on film subsidies last year—a 29 percent increase over the previous fiscal year—at a time when the state’s investments in higher education, health care, infrastructure and public safety continued to erode.

A new report by the Louisiana Budget Project takes an in-depth look at these costly giveaways, and suggests ways the Legislature could improve the program.

“People are getting rich on this deal, and it isn’t Louisiana taxpayers,” said Jan Moller, Director of the Louisiana Budget Project. “Louisiana needs to limit the cost to taxpayers without pulling the rug out from under the industry.”

Read the full report here.

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Revenue Study Commission Scheduled to Meet in August

The Revenue Study Commission August meetings have been scheduled for:

Wednesday, August 15, 2:00
House Committee Room 5

Thursday, August 16, 2:00
House Committee Room 6

Review the agenda  here or go to legis.state.la.us.

There will be no public testimony on these two days.  It is important to get questions to the commission members based on the exemptions they will be reviewing. Let your voice be heard.

BCBL has worked to get tax exemptions in the conversation, and then to get a forum to get the tax exemptions reviewed, now it is important to establish a criteria for evaluating the tax exemptions. Please review the agenda.

 

Tax Exemptions Primer

The Louisiana Budget Project and Better Choices for a Better Louisiana released a one page primer on tax exemptions to help educate legislators and the public on the affect of Louisiana’s 468 tax exemptions.

We encourage you to distribute this one-pager to your members and friends encouraging them to become active in the tax exemption debate. Read the primer here.

For more information on the Louisiana Budget Project, visit www.labudget.org.

Follow BCBL on Twitter

BCBL just joined Twitter! Follow us at @BetterChoicesLA today!

Revenue Study Commission Meeting

A meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 31 with Rep. Joel Robideaux, chairman of the Revenue Study Commission, after the meeting, Mary Williams will brief the coalition on the discussion.

Revenue Study Commission Members
Rep. Joel Robideaux, Chairman, larep045@legis.la.gov , (337)984-1091, Kathleen Faucheaux
Senator Neil Riser, Vice-Chairman, risern@legis.la.gov, (318) 649-0977, Annette McGuffee
Senator John Alario, alarioj@legis.la.gov, (504) 340-2221,Cheryl Gaudin
Senator Jack Donahue, donahuej@legis.la.gov, (985) 727-7949, Michelle Pichon
Senator Robert Adley, adleyr@legis.la.gov, (318) 965-1755, Bobby Garrett, Jeannine James
Senator Sharon Weston Broome, lasen15@legis.la.gov, (225) 359-9352,Kenyatta Morris/April D. Hawthorne
Senator Dan Claitor, claitord@legis.la.gov, (225) 765-0206, Sharon Hattier
Senator Ronnie Johns, johnsr@legis.la.gov , (337) 491-2016, Alexis Jackson
Rep. Chuck Kleckley, larep036@legis.la.gov , (337)475-3016, Ginger Gomez
Rep. Taylor Barras, barrast@legis.la.gov , (337)373-4051, Ginger Babineaux
Rep. Henry Burns, burnsh@legis.la.gov , (318)949-2463, Dodie Horton
Rep. Jim Fannin, larep013@legis.la.gov,(318)259-6620,  Jacqueline Adams
Rep. Walt Leger, legerw@legis.la.gov , (504)556-9970, Brenda S. Landry
Rep. Patrick Williams, larep004@legis.la.gov , (318)676-5990, Angela Alexander

Let these members hear from you on tax code spending reform, to date there are 468 tax exemptions, totaling $4.8 billion in loss revenues.

Meeting Notice

The Revenue Study Commission will be meeting on Monday, July 23, at 1:30 in House Committee Room 5 in the Capitol.

Welcome New Member

The Louisiana Supported Living Network is BCBL’s newest member.  Bruce Blaney is the executive director, and he can be reached at blaney357@aol.com. Welcome!

Work to Do

Creating a commission to study tax exemptions, rebates and credits was a good result of the 2012 session, however a huge disappointment was the governor’s veto of Rep. Katrina Jackson’s House Bill #1104 that required additional reporting requirements on tax exemptions, rebates and credits.

The governor stated in his letter to the Clerk of the House that House Bill #1104 creates duplicative and burdensome reporting requirements for agencies administering tax incentives.

The Donahue commission is now set to meet as early as July, Mary Williams will keep you posted on how you can help get the word out on modifying and/or discontinuing tax exemptions that are not beneficial to the state.

Wrap Up Highlights of the BCBL Legislative Agenda

View BCBL’s highlights from the 2012 Legislative Session here. Thanks for all your support!

BCBL Win!

SCR 103 by Senator Donahue was signed by the speaker.   This resolution establishes a commission to study tax exemptions rebates and credits.

Thanks to everyone who helped get this through the process so late in session.  Please, let Senator Donahue know we appreciate all he did on this resolution.

BCBL’s role will be to educate the public and the commission on tax exemptions that should be kept or expanded and one’s that should be modified or discontinued.

Welcome New BCBL Member

The Louisiana Bucket Brigade is BCBL’s newest member. Anne Rolfes is the founding director, and will be joining in BCBL’s work. She can be reached by e-mail at anne@labucketbrigade.org. Welcome!

SB 326–Senator Broome Pay Day Loan Bill

Senator Broome’s SB 326 has been signed by the governor.  Act 234 requires the Office of Financial Institutions to compile certain information from licensees under the Louisiana Deferred Presentment and Small Loan Act.

If you are interested in joining the Louisiana Fair Lending Coalition, please e-mail Mary Williams at mary@lano.org

Suggestion

It has been suggested to give BCBL Coalition recognition to legislators that were champions during this session, I have talked to many of you about this, and if you have ideas get in touch with me.

Need to Know

Watch the two following audio-enriched visual presentations and feel free to share them on your social media sites.

                 

“Louisiana Budget Basics” explains why health-care and education always seem to get hit hard during state budget cuts.

Watch “Louisiana Budget Basics” here.

“Payday Lending in Louisiana” examines the predatory loan industry shares findings on how it impacts Louisiana’s working poor.

Watch “Payday Lending in Louisiana” here.

*These presentations allow you to  watch the PowerPoint while hearing commentary so be sure your sound is turned on.