BATON ROUGE, LA (November 2, 2016) – LABI thanks the members of the HCR11 Task Force for many hours of deliberations and thoughtful debate on a complex topic. The recommendations released today offer significant changes to the tax code, and LABI will be vetting these concepts with our membership in the months ahead. LABI commends the Task Force for suggesting unified sales tax collection and auditing, the repeal of the inventory tax alongside the credit, an eventual phase-out or reform of the franchise tax, and the restoration of the full carry-forward of Net Operating Loss (NOL) deductions, among other recommendations. LABI believes other elements of the Task Force report – such as a permanent tax on business utilities and constitutional changes to the Industrial Property Tax Exemption – require additional vetting and debate, which will continue through the SCR6 Task Force and the Sales Tax Streamlining and Modernization Commission.

Stephen Waguespack, LABI President and CEO stated: “The Task Force recommendations represent the kickoff in a lengthy process as the state prepares for fiscal reform in 2017. We look forward to dialogue with policymakers, legislators, and the members of several other Task Forces in the months ahead to refine these tax reform proposals.”  He added: “While the Task Force has made numerous suggestions to the tax code, we must begin to acknowledge that even with an ideal tax code, spending projections are still likely to outpace revenue growth in the years to come. LABI urges the Legislature to spend the months ahead seeking budget reforms to compliment tax reform, keeping a watchful eye on Louisiana’s struggling economy as we work together towards a more competitive, fair, and efficient tax code.”

The official press release from the Task Force is available here. The full report and recommendations are available here.