BATON ROUGE, La. — The man in charge of Louisiana’s finances wants you to pay fewer taxes.
State Treasurer John Fleming wants the state to do away with personal income taxes.
He says the move would make Louisiana more competitive with neighboring states, including Texas.
States like Texas, Florida, and Tennessee rely on high property taxes, high sales taxes, and increasing taxes in other departments.
Tennessee has what's called a sin tax – taxing beer vendors $1.29 for every gallon they sell.
According to the Urban Institute, Louisiana’s population only increased by 1% in twelve years, while the national average was 7.7%.
However, Fleming has made it clear, he doesn't want to replace the absence of the personal income tax by increasing taxes in other areas.
He also opposes renewing the state's 0.45 cent sales tax, which prevents businesses from growing and tempts them to leave.
Fleming believes removing the income tax will "spur" job creation, and attract more industry, which will attract more taxpayers.
I look forward to the fiscal session of the legislature early next year where we will begin to confront some of these things and hopefully make reforms. Including a sharp reduction in regulations that aren't necessary, so we put a sign up that says open for business in Louisiana once again.
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