BY: The Associated Press
TAGS: Dan Claitor, income tax repeal, Jack Donahue, Rob Marionneaux
BATON ROUGE ? An attempt to derail a proposed repeal of Louisiana?s income tax failed Tuesday in the state Senate, meaning lawmakers who face elections this fall will take an up or down vote on the multibillion dollar tax break next week.
If approved by both chambers, the state would lose nearly $11 billion in general fund revenue over five years.
Sen. Dan Claitor, R-Baton Rouge, tried to get the proposal sent to a second Senate committee after it emerged from the Senate?s tax panel. But senators narrowly sided with Sen. Rob Marionneaux, D-Livonia, in his request to give the measure a full Senate floor hearing.
The Senate voted 19-17 to allow the tax repeal to be heard on the Senate floor. It is scheduled for debate next week.
The bill would phase out the state?s personal and corporate income taxes over five years, starting with the 2011 tax year. It would cost the state $605 million in the upcoming 2011-12 fiscal year and nearly $4 billion annually by its fifth year. No income tax would be levied in the state after Jan. 1, 2015.
Claitor cited the hefty price tag of the measure as he tried to redirect it to the Senate Finance Committee. Marionneaux said the move was designed to kill his tax break bill without senators being forced to take a direct vote on it.
The House has two similar measures, one to repeal the personal income tax and the other to eliminate the corporate income tax, awaiting debate on the House floor. Those proposals would
Marionneaux equated the tax breaks to being a pay raise for police officers, firefighters and regular working folks around Louisiana. He said the state could fill in some of the revenue gaps with tobacco tax hikes, oil production tax changes or increased fees for people who use state services.
He said lawmakers continue to give individual tax breaks to businesses and special interests but aren?t considering enough tax exemptions for working families. He also warned lawmakers about the backlash they might receive from their constituents if the House votes for the tax breaks and the Senate refuses them.
Among those voting to send the tax repeal bill to the Finance Committee was Sen. Jack Donahue, R-Mandeville, who said Marionneaux had no specifics about how the state would cope with such a steep drop in revenue. The two senators yelled at each other on the floor as the debate grew heated.
?You don?t have a plan. All you have is this desire to cut the money,? Donahue said.
Marionneaux replied, ?You want to give tax breaks to rich oil companies one at a time, but don?t give them to mom and dad back home.?
The proposals come as lawmakers already are grappling with a $1.6 billion budget shortfall next year and weighing cuts to health care, education and social services programs.
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