Gov. Jeff Landry has called the Legislature into a special session 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 they use every day such as diapers, garbage collection, haircuts and home repairs. And as the chart below shows, the tax increases won’t fully offset the dollars lost from cutting taxes. This revenue decline would lead to cuts to health care, K-12 education and other programs and services residents expect from the state government.
