Gov. Jeff Landry has called the Legislature into a 20-day special session beginning on Nov. 6 to overhaul Louisiana’s tax structure. The governor wants lawmakers to renew expiring sales taxes and expand the sales tax base. He also is demanding steep cuts to income taxes for corporations and individuals, and elimination of the corporate franchise tax.

Landry’s plan will mainly benefit corporations and the wealthy, while working and middle-class families will pay more for services and products we use every day such as diapers, garbage collection, haircuts and home repairs. 

This proposal would also lead to budget deficits that would force cuts to important services like health care, K-12 education, and roads.

The biggest beneficiaries of the corporate tax cut would be large corporations that aren't headquartered in Louisiana and their shareholders. In fact, 95% of the proposed corporate income-tax cut would benefit people outside Louisiana. Overall, the tax plan would cut state revenues by an estimated $742 million by the 2026-27 budget year - a far bigger revenue decline than the “fiscal cliff” that it is intended to solve. 

Louisiana’s tax system certainly needs to be improved, but this rushed special session is the wrong way to do it. Instead of taking the proper time to consider these changes during the regular session in April, politicians in Baton Rouge are trying to rush through a massive giveaway to the corporate special interests that fund their campaigns.