Some Republican state legislators are discussing whether the state should eliminate the state income tax. Shreveport Representative Thomas Pressly and Mandeville Representative Richard Nelson plan to propose legislation next year. Nelson says repealing personal and corporate income taxes would boost the state’s economy.
“How do we make Louisiana more competitive, how do we keep our best and brightest here and at least for a group of us it’s the most practical solution,” said Nelson.
Nelson says to make up for the loss of tax revenue, he proposes giving parishes more flexibility to raise property taxes.
“If you let the locals set the priorities with their own tax dollars, I think it’s a much more efficient way to run government, and the projects they really need get prioritized and funded,” said Nelson.
Nelson says there are some who will not like paying higher property taxes, but under his proposal, parishes would not have to fight for state dollars in order to fund local projects, because they would receive more revenue from higher property taxes. And he says you would not pay state income taxes.
“Have you heard of anybody saying they are leaving Texas because the property taxes are too high, but they’ll say I’m moving to Texas because there is no income tax,” said Nelson.
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