BATON ROUGE, La. — A special session is now underway at the Louisiana State Capitol. Over the next three weeks, lawmakers will make critical decisions on our tax code. This could impact everything from what you pay for goods and services to how much money you take home.
WWL Louisiana's Lily Cummings has more on what the governor is calling the largest tax cut in state history.
On Wednesday, the governor's special session on tax reform began.
"There is not just one bill in this session that will turn this thing around," Landry said. The entire package fixes what is wrong and what is required of us."
This is the third special session Governor Jeff Landry has called since taking office in January. In three weeks, Landry hopes to modernize what he calls our "prehistoric" tax code. The proposed bills would cut income tax by 30 percent while expanding sales tax for certain goods and services.
Plus, eliminate some tax exemptions and lower corporate tax from 7.5 to 3.5 percent.
While the governor says these proposals will make our state more attractive to outside businesses and put more money in resident's pockets, some lawmakers say this special session doesn't give them enough time.
"I don't believe we have enough time to fully digest all of the information that are in these bills," said Rep. Candace Newell (D). "We were sent a package of 10 bills a few weeks ago and now we've gotten to 17 bills."
Democratic lawmakers say if sales tax is expanded, the burden now falls on small businesses.
"Think about the older guy who comes and cuts your grass every day," said Rep. Matthew Willard (D) "Or the high school student who does it to put some money in his pocket, or your friend who cuts your hair, they will be responsible for collecting and remitting taxes, and if they don't, they would be essentially committing tax fraud."
While Landry claims his plan is about fairness, legislators have also questioned if Landry's tax package will leave them with enough money to pay for government-run services such as schools, health care, prisons, and parks.
Besides tax reform, Landry is calling for a permanent $2,000 raise for teachers, but some lawmakers say that should be a separate task.
"The constant conversation, dangling these raises to our teachers, in order for us to do something, I'm tired of that," said Rep. Newell.
The special session must conclude by 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 25.
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