Gov. Jeff Landry provided more details on his plan to overhaul Louisiana’s tax system during a Tuesday press conference. Landry has made clear his desire for reducing income taxes for corporations and individuals, and doubled down on those ideas during the half-hour event. But as The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Tyler Bridges and Meghan Friedmann report, key information on the renewal of expiring taxes and the elimination of tax breaks was discovered in interviews after the press conference:
Secretary of Revenue Richard Nelson, the point person on the tax package, disclosed in an interview following the press conference that the governor wants to renew the temporary sales tax. Not renewing it would cost the state $450 million next year and could force budget cuts in spending on higher education and public health care that Landry said he doesn’t want. … They also didn’t reveal a plan confirmed by Louisiana Economic Development that will be controversial: eliminating new tax breaks for movie and TV productions in Louisiana and eliminating the Quality Jobs tax break for investors, both on Jan. 1, in exchange for lower corporate taxes and other tools for the agency to attract investment.
Landry wants to replace Louisiana’s graduated income-tax structure – where the highest rates apply to the highest incomes – with a “flat” tax of 3%. The administration’s own numbers show the biggest benefits of the reduction would go to the wealthy. Bridges and Friedmann explain concerns on how this plan would affect people in lower income brackets:
For example, a couple making $240,000 would save $2,610 a year, while a couple earning $25,500 would save $91, per the data. … “Our biggest concern is that it would create ongoing, structural budget shortfalls that would force cuts to health care, education and job-training programs that are needed for the economy to thrive,” Jan Moller, Invest in Louisiana’s director, said in a statement. “We also are concerned that it would shift the responsibility of paying taxes away from wealthy corporations and people and onto low- and middle-income households.”
Landry and Nelson also told reporters that the state’s budget shortfall for next year had increased to $700 million, up from $587 million. The increase is due to a 2021 law that requires automatic, across-the-board revenue cuts if certain economic and budget conditions are met.
Evaluating the effectiveness of tax incentives
Gov. Jeff Landry is proposing to scrap two expensive tax subsidy programs, the Motion Picture Production Program and the Quality Jobs Program, which have shown to provide a poor return on investment for the state. Pew’s Alison Wakefield explains ways that states can better analyze the effectiveness of tax incentives, including a state commission in Oklahoma that oversees the evaluation process.
Part of the strength of Oklahoma’s current approach lies in the range of perspectives represented on the commission, which includes people generally supportive of incentives as well as people with other viewpoints. The commission includes members of the public appointed by the governor, executive branch officials who administer incentives, and state officials with general budget and policymaking responsibility. Additionally, the outside professionals contracted to conduct the analysis regularly seek input from incentive stakeholders and present their findings at open meetings that allow for public input, ensuring transparency and participation.
Licensing a troubled juvenile jail
The Jackson Parish Jail in north Louisiana was holding juvenile offenders for months despite not having a required license from the Department of Children and Family Services. Alleged mistreatment of these children, if true, allowed DCFS to close the jail’s juvenile operations. Agency officials informed the jail that it was illegally housing children, and a site visit confirmed many of the allegations of mistreatment. Despite all this, DCFS officials granted Jackson the required license anyway. The Lens’ Nick Chrastil reports:
According to those regulations, when a youth facility opens prematurely, DCFS automatically disqualifies them from the licensure process. Agency regulations mandate disqualification: if a facility operates as a juvenile-detention center without going through an initial leasing inspection, “the licensing inspection shall not be completed,” and “and the application shall be denied.” … “It is beyond outrageous that the Jackson Parish facility could illegally hold pre-adjudicated youth and mistreat them for months without recourse,” Family and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children director Gina] Womack said. Neither DCFS nor OJJ responded to The Lens’ questions about this story.
Chrastil explains how Jackson was able to avoid as much as $200,000 in fines for illegally housing children while cashing in on a lucrative contract with the state:
Money began flowing very soon after the new jail opened. By December, through its September OJJ contract, Jackson had billed the state more than $160,000, according to an invoice obtained by The Appeal. That contract, with its $143 per diem, notes that any agency without a contract pays a much steeper, $350 per diem, to house youth. … “This is about profit-making, not child welfare and public safety,” Womack said. “Our youth are the ones who suffer abuse in unsafe facilities lacking adequate care, education, and services.”
Connecting mothers and children with healthy food
The federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) finances healthy foods and other support for pregnant and postpartum women and their children. Route Fifty’s Kaitlyn Levinson explains how Arkansas is using telehealth to overcome staffing and physical challenges to help more families gain access:
To help the small staff effectively serve high-risk WIC participants, the Arkansas Department of Health will develop an online platform for staff to conduct virtual health assessments, counseling and chat with clients in real-time, said Taylor Baughman, WIC state nutrition coordinator at Arkansas’s health department.. .. The platform will include a real-time chat function for participants to connect with other staff like WIC vendor liaisons, who guide clients as they shop for WIC-approved groceries. Arkansans can also schedule appointments, and send and receive documents through the platform. It will be accessible from a smart device or a computer.
Number of the Day
19 million – Number of U.S. children who received less than the full $2,000-per-child federal Child Tax Credit, or received no credit at all, in 2022 because their families’ incomes were too low. (Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)