State officials, senators meet to discuss possible changes to tax options

BATON ROUGE – At the State Capitol, after a failed attempt at a constitutional convention, state representatives and senators met today to discuss possible changes to the state’s tax options.

The Louisiana Department of Revenue has outlined tax reform that it says could ultimately benefit Louisiana, but it would need a constitutional workaround to make it work.

The tax reform proposal includes several changes to Louisiana’s current tax policy, from eliminating more than 100 tax exemptions to reducing personal income tax rates. They say this measure, combined with several other reforms, would put Louisiana on the right track.

Louisiana Department of Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson was involved in the reform process and believed it would put Louisiana on the right track.

“This is something that threatens us and we have to find some kind of solution. One of the things my dad always told me is the only thing worse than bad news is bad news late, and that’s what we’re trying to avoid,” Nelson said.

Nelson also believes that not only would it benefit the state, but it would also allow it to be competitive with other states if this law were passed.

“I’m looking at how we can actually help Louisiana be competitive in the future, in terms of the businesses that we attract here, how we create jobs here, how we keep our citizens in Louisiana and allow them to succeed, so that’s one of the biggest changes and reforms that we’re looking at implementing,” Nelson said.

Any reforms will need to be approved by voters before they can take effect.