Major state tax study well under way

As the public conversation about tax incentives grows louder and lawmakers move ever closer to the term-ending fiscal session of 2015, pressure is building for a comprehensive tax study being overseen by Louisiana State University and partly underwritten by the state.
Headed up by Dr. Jim Richardson, an economist from the flagship university, the study will offer a thorough review of Louisiana’s tax structure and is already well underway.
“Right now we plan to put out a summary of recommendations in early March,” Ricahrdson told LaPolitics.
House Speaker Chuck Kleckley, R-Lake Charles, who spearheaded the effort, said the summarized findings will likely be presented to a joint meeting of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee.
The full study will be released as a book over the summer, possibly published by LSU Press.
Richardson is staying mum on details, but said it’s likely that the recommendations will include some kind of plan for a common local sales tax base.
“In the end, that has to be the situation. The question is how to get there,” he said.
Internet sales and how to tax them will be an interesting addition as well, he added, and both sides of the ongoing incentives debate are offering their arguments.