Budget & Taxes

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.

The recent controversy over Louisiana’s alternative fuels tax credit shined a bright light on the dangers that lurk in “tax expenditures”—money the state spends though the tax code in the form of exemptions, credits and rebates.

Privatizing a state-run prison in Avoyelles Parish might save the state some money, but it would come at a steep cost to state workers and public safety, according to a new commentary by the Louisiana Budget Project. Still, the Legislature deserves praise for scrapping an earlier plan to sell the Avoyelles Correctional Center.